Paradigm Shift
by The Darkness Factor
Summary: After her fourth year at Hogwarts, Ginny Weasley is suddenly plagued by memory lapses. Dumbledore recommends that she takes a vacation away from the wizarding world during the summer. The destination? Domino City, Japan. Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Yu-Gi-Oh!
1. Prologue: Egypt's Treasure

**Paradigm Shift**

**Prologue**

When Ginevra Weasley was ten years old, Bill Weasley returned from his first expedition to Egypt. The responses from her brothers were all typical- Charlie clapped him on the back, Percy gave him an overly formal welcome back while puffing out his chest (as though he could picture the prefect badge there already), Fred and George pranked him with a spell that turned his hair black when he walked in the door. It was supposed to make him tan too, but the change wasn't all that noticeable.

Ron and Ginny hung back. The years created a yawning gap between the two of them and their eldest brother, so the most they did was greet him when he sent them grins while giving Fred a noogie.

Her mother spent the next half an hour fussing over Bill, severely scolding the twins for their prank, and trying unsuccessfully to change his hair back to flaming red. Mr. Weasley eagerly asked him to recount his adventures in the Land of the Nile- was he forced to use muggle transportation? What kind? What was it like? Were there any muggles there on the expedition? What were they like?

Bill laughed easily at his dad's over-enthusiasm. "Yeah, we had to drive to one of the tombs in a... a Cheep, I think it was called."

Beside her, Ron snickered at the strange name. Ginny listened to Bill's story, enraptured. She could easily picture the fantastic land that Egypt must have been: endless seas of golden sand, a bright blue sky, the sun lighting up the world. The nighttime sounded even more incredible to her- stars decorating the sky, the moon shining overhead.

"Can't I go with you next time, Bill?" she pleaded, running over and tugging on his pant leg.

He sighed and ruffled her hair absentmindedly, making her scowl. "'Fraid not, Ginny. Egypt's a dangerous place. Lots of traps, magical or otherwise. Besides, you wouldn't like it there; the sand gets everywhere, and that sun would fry your skin."

Ginny was sure that she _would _like it there; she told Bill so, but he only laughed a bit.

"Trust me," he assured her. "You're better off staying put. You'll be going off to Hogwarts soon-"

She crossed her arms and muttered, "Not soon enough."

"- and besides." Here he bent down until he was on level with her. Lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, "It'll be up to you to keep Mum company. You know how she gets."

Guiltily, Ginny glanced at her mother. While Mrs. Weasley kept up the appearance of being a cheerful, bustling housewife, she knew that the Weasley family matriarch's attitude changed during the school year. She became slightly put out at not having her boys to look after- and this year, Ron would be gone as well. Come to think of it, Ginny would be home by herself. While she still thought that spending that time in Egypt with Bill would be better, she didn't want her mum being home all alone.

Slumping, she agreed. Apparently the forlorn look on her face gave Bill some paused, because he began digging through the knapsack he'd brought with him.

"Almost... damn extension charm..." he muttered.

"BILL!"

"Sorry, Mum," he said, having the sense to look abashed. "Aha!"

Ginny's jaw dropped as he pulled out a gold object. A triangle was set in the middle of a ring, with spikes hanging from the ring part of the thing. There was a string threaded through it, and although it was a bit large for a necklace, she was captivated by the sight of it almost instantly. Hands trembling, she took it from him gingerly, watching in fascination as the light reflected off of the strange eye in the center.

"It's so pretty..." she whispered.

"Don't worry," Bill assured her mum and dad. "I had it screened before I brought it back. No signs of dark magic."

He didn't get a chance to say another word as she flung her arms around him, taking care not to poke him with one of the points on the necklace.

"Thank you, Bill!" she squealed, burying her face into his t-shirt.

He laughed, ruffling her hair. "You're welcome, sis."

A scoff came from behind her. Detaching herself from her brother, Ginny turned to glare at Ron.

"It's not like it's anything special," he muttered. Ginny noticed that his ears were turning red.

"You're just jealous because Bill gave me a cool present, and you didn't get one!" she retorted, slipping it over her head so that the pendant rested on her stomach.

"I am not!" he yelled. "It's a piece of jewelry. Jewelry's for girls."

Ginny huffed, but opted out of replying in favor of storming into her room.

* * *

It was just supposed to be a simple game of wizard's chess.

Ron was winning, as usual, and was wearing a very smug grin on his face. Ginny's expression was scrunched up in concentration as she debated on whether or not sending out her queen to take his pawn was the best idea- knowing her brother, he most likely had some kind of plan in mind. She had decided to go through with it, and wound up losing her queen as he countered her move.

She couldn't remember anything past that.

Her hand had a death grip on Ron's. His face was milk white, his breathing slow. Her mum was sobbing on the other side of the hospital bed, clutching at Ron's other hand as though letting go would be the death of her. His eyes were roving under the eyelids and he whimpered something every once and awhile, but other than that he showed no signs of stirring. Ginny clutched his hand tighter.

It had only been a chess game, but when she came to it had been to a sight that still burned into the back of her memory. Ron, crumpled on his side of the chessboard, was unmoving. Every single one of his red pieces was smashed to bits- his king was nothing but dust. Ginny's own king had been on a space in front of his.

She'd tried to awaken Ron, unable to explain why it was that she felt so shaken up.

When he didn't respond at first, her nudging had become more insistent.

When he showed no signs of waking up at all, she'd started sobbing incoherently. Their mum had rushed into her room after that, to find the remains of the chessboard and an unconscious Ron. The healers were unable to explain why her brother refused to wake up. Her dad and Bill were both arguing with a ministry official out in the hall.

_I didn't do it, _she told herself, taking a deep breath. _It wasn't me. It couldn't have been!_

So why did she feel like she was going to vomit every time she looked at him?

* * *

Ginny couldn't really remember the rest of that June. All she knew was that, suddenly, her brothers were all wary around her. She'd repeatedly told her parents (as well as several St. Mungo's healers) that she hadn't done anything. The chess pieces had suddenly exploded and Ron was knocked unconscious. She had, however, overheard one of the healers speculating that her magic was acting up- and not in a good way.

It didn't make any sense. Why would her magic hurt Ron? She loved him!

Fred and George were at least sympathetic to the fact that she was forbidden from playing any board games anymore. The three of them would sneak out to the orchard to play Quidditch every so often, and they often took her to the nearby Ottery St. Catchpole with them, where they spent some time with a few muggle friends.

They were playing Ghosts in the Graveyard when it happened again.

She'd been running.

The next thing she knew, she was picking herself up from the cold ground in an alleyway. There seemed to be a gnome pounding on the inside of her skull with a hammer. A few feet away was one of the boys that she, Fred and George had been playing with.

His eyes were closed, and he wasn't moving.

This time she screamed.

When Fred and George came running, she flew at them in hysterics. "I didn't do it! I just woke up and he was like this! I didn't do it I swear!"

"Ginny!" shouted Fred, taking her by the shoulders while George went to examine the boy. "Calm down, it's okay! We know you didn't do anything!"

She started shaking badly. Her legs turned to jelly, and this time the roiling of her stomach was too much. She vomited, the puddle of sick splashing onto Fred's trousers. With a yell of disgust he jumped back, but quickly ignored the vomit in favor of picking her up. She was frozen. When had it gotten so cold?

In the end, they just took the boy- Aaron, his name was Aaron- to a muggle doctor and said that they found him like that.

They never did go back to Ottery St. Catchpole after that.

* * *

Mid-July. Ron still hadn't woken up.

She was staring listlessly out of her window, yearning for the orchard and the escape that riding on a broom brought. The pendant was a comforting weight in her lap and the sun warmed her skin, but she still felt the constant fear in the back of her mind. Lately she kept on getting the feeling that she was being followed, but every time she looked, no one was there.

Pulling her knees to her chest, she buried her face in her jeans.

Her mum had found out about what happened to the muggle boy, having apparently heard it from the Lovegoods. Ginny had been dragged back to the hospital for another checkup, with the same conclusion as before: her magic was flaring up strangely. This time, however, they had elaborated a bit further by saying that it was possible she had an aptitude for dark magic.

Her mother had told her that she could no longer play with anyone else, Fred and George included, until they figured out how they were going to control her magic- which meant waiting until she went to Hogwarts before she was allowed to take part in any sort of game. She'd tried reading books, but found herself unable to focus on the pages.

_Are you lonely, little girl?_

Her head shot upward with a gasp; she stood and surveyed the room, looking for that presence that she'd felt at her back for the past few weeks.

No one was there.

_You don't even know what you're looking for._

It was not a nice Voice. It was rough and edged, and sounded much older than Fred and George. Now truly frightened, she spun in a circle.

"Where are you?" she tried to cry, but it came out as a forlorn whisper.

_Here._

Thinking it meant behind her, she spun around again. Laughter filled her mind; it seemed to echo, making her shiver and rub her arms in an attempt to regain some warmth.

_Are you lonely, little girl? _it asked her again. _Would you like to play a game?_

Cautiously, she answered, "What game?"

_Whatever you'd like, Ginevra._

Jumping again, she said, "How do you know my name?" Her hands were starting to shake again, in spite of the fact that she hadn't hurt anyone this time. Its only response was another laugh.

"Stop that," she said, her voice trembling.

It did. _Choose a game, Ginevra._

Biting her lip, she went into her cabinet and got out her own set of wizard's chess. The Voice seemed to be amused by this for some reason, but it didn't elaborate. Setting up both sides of the board, she sat cross legged on the white side.

"How are you going to play?"

_Make a move._

Swallowing dryly, she croaked out, "Pawn to B3."

The pawn obeyed, sliding onto the spot without much trouble. After a few moments, she thought that perhaps she'd been going crazy and imagining the Voice, but then it abruptly said, _Pawn to H6._

To her astonishment, the little red figure obeyed, moving forward one square. Suddenly her fear seemed ever so slightly lessened. Speaking with more confidence, she ordered one of her knights to take the field. The voice replied once again.

Gradually, however, she came to realize that something was wrong. When its- no, she now realized, _his- _bishop obliterated one of her castles, she felt a sharp pain in her chest. Doubling over slightly, she noted that the shaking had returned to her hands.

_Not feeling up to par, Ginevra?_

The Voice was _happy _about it.

"What are you doing?" she asked, trying her best not to whimper. "Stop! It hurts!"

_Make your move, girl, _it ordered, its tone suddenly frightening. She shook her head as the pain seemed to worsen.

"No," she managed to get out. "No. I'm stopping. I'm tired anyway."

_You don't understand, do you Ginevra? You _can't _stop. They won't allow it._

"Well too bad," she snapped, sounding braver than she felt. "I'm quitting." Quickly scooping all the pieces into her hands, she threw them and then the board back into her game drawer and then slammed it shut. The world spun around her when she tried to stand. Guessing that she needed to lie down, she stumbled over to her bed, landing on it with a cry of pain muffled by her pillow.

Ginny curled in on herself, feeling as though her nerves were on fire. Something was ripping up her insides, she was sure of it. Hot, silent tears ran down her cheeks as she tried her best not to scream from the pain. And all the while the Voice crooned:

_Hush now, little girl. I'm sure it's all a part of your imagination..._

* * *

Her brothers had left for Hogwarts, so it didn't really matter that she didn't have anyone to play with anymore. Her mum always seemed to be busy with something, her dad worked, and Bill had gone back to Egypt. Charlie was preparing to go back to Romania and was busy writing up several reports on dragons. As she had predicted, Percy had been the recipient of a prefect's badge.

She still couldn't believe that everyone else had gotten to meet Harry Potter, and she hadn't. She'd only gotten a small glimpse. Reclining against the tree in the garden, she pictured him in her mind's eye: a cute, kind boy with the trademark lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. The messy black hair and green eyes made her giggle a little bit.

One of the gnomes ran past her, pausing only to give her a curious look before continuing on its way.

Ginny sighed. The Voice hadn't come back after she had her strange pain episode back in July. She decided that it was probably all for the best anyway, considering that it seemed to be the cause of the pain in the first place. She was beginning to suspect that it was somehow connected to Ron's and Aaron's comas. Ron had woken up before school began, but Aaron was still apparently out.

Her brother remembered nothing of their chess match- a fact that she was grateful for. She didn't want to know what had happened.

_You don't? You're not even curious?_

_ No... _she thought, feeling an unreasonable fear build up inside her. "Go away," she said out loud.

_I can't do that, _he replied. She shifted position slightly, the necklace tinkling a bit.

"Why not?" she demanded out loud, trying to sound courageous. She fiddled with the pendant a bit, staring down at it. He chuckled in response. She shivered, just as she did two months ago.

Suddenly, she remembered that that day, she'd left the necklace on her dresser, deciding that if she was going to go outside, she didn't want to ruin it. Come to think of it, she'd left it back home when she and the twins had gone into town, but she'd been wearing it when she came to later.

A kind of madness seized her, and she grabbed the string keeping it around her neck.

_No you don't! _the Voice suddenly roared, filling her head and almost blocking her hearing. Her eyes widened as she felt the points suddenly dig into her skin, anchoring it to her midsection. Red stains appeared on her green shirt as she stared down at the pendant in horror.

_You're _mine, _little girl, _he snarled. _Mine._

Grabbing the ring part of it, she tried to pull it out, but the object only seemed to dig deeper, sending lightning bolts of pain through her that almost made her convulse.

She fainted.

When she awoke again, she was somehow back in her room. Her mother was probably still in Diagon Alley, running her errands. She'd be back soon, judging by the fact that the sun was already beginning to sink lower into the sky. The pendant hung limply from her neck, and the wounds it had caused had stopped bleeding. Looking at them made Ginny want to throw up, so she didn't look at them.

Quickly she changed shirts, not wanting to arouse suspicion. The Voice was telling her that if they found out, she'd be shut up in St. Mungo's mental ward.

She didn't know what to do. She wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn't come. _He _was all around her, his laughter ringing in her ears.

_Just remember, Ginevra._

* * *

_Dear Tom,_

_ Ugh, today was a horrible day! Snape decided to give us all extra homework for not having our potions done perfectly. And then McGonagall told me that I wasn't trying hard enough in Transfiguration. I do try; why can't she see it?_

_ Dear Ginny,_

_ I'm sure that she just happens to be looking the other way whenever you're performing well. _  
_ But enough about that. You said that there was something bothering you?_

_ Dear Tom,_

_ Yes, you're right. You know how I told you I've been having blackouts lately? I don't really understand why. The other day I woke up and I was covered in blood and chicken feathers! Well, what I wanted to tell you was that something similar happened to me before I came to Hogwarts. I was playing chess with my brother Ron when I suddenly passed out. When I woke up, his pieces were destroyed and he was in a coma._

_ It happened again when I was playing a muggle game with some boys in town. His name was Aaron... I think that he still hasn't woken up yet. Later, I-_

Ginny paused here, quill tip hovering over the yellowing page. Even with Tom- who she trusted more than most people- she was reluctant to share her experience with the Voice in her head. It- he- spoke to her frequently in the year before her time at Hogwarts. Mostly he seemed to just want to play more games. When she finally relented (if she didn't give in, he usually used the pendant to stab her again), she slowly learned to somewhat withstand the pain that having destroyed chess pieces caused.

Most of the time she lost, though. And losing hurt almost as badly as forfeiting did.

It never hurt for long; she usually went back to normal after a few hours. There had been several times when she tried to muster up the courage to tell her mother. She could clearly remember the Voice's response to that little idea.

_You'll never learn._

She'd awoken to find herself in town again, another unknowing victim unconscious at her feet. Recalling the implication made Ginny feel sick; she could just imagine the Voice saying to her, "If you try to tell her, then I'll just have to challenge her to a little game, won't I?"

She blinked. Tom had written back, curious about her sudden lapse in concentration. She bent over to reply-

-but there were already words there.

_This one is mine, mortal._

There was a pause. Even though no one was actually speaking aloud, Ginny found herself straining her ears.

_Who are you?_

She abruptly shut the diary, gulping deep breaths and trying to flatten her panic. For some unknown reason, the Voice had been strangely silent since her arrival at Hogwarts. Not that she had really noticed; there were two suitable distractions from it. One, of course, was Tom and his diary. He was her first real friend.

The other was Harry Potter.

It was beyond frustrating that she couldn't even manage to stammer out a hello in front of him. His eyes would catch hers and almost pin her there, making even a squeak seem impossible to utter. Instead, she almost always found herself fleeing his vicinity, hoping against hope that he had somehow not noticed.

But then, it was better than the Voice torturing her every day.

* * *

He'd thrown out the diary.

She knew that it was the Voice, because she'd been writing to Tom when she had another blackout. Granted, at least this time she hadn't woken up to any strangled roosters. She was in the third floor corridor, propped up against the wall. No one was in sight.

It hadn't taken her long to discover what was wrong. She practically tore apart her school things looking for the diary, unable to explain why she wanted- no, _needed- _it back so badly. An irrational rage filled her, even though she herself had been considering getting rid of the diary herself only hours beforehand.

She had immediately suspected that it had been her who was making the attacks when Mrs. Norris first showed up hanging from a torch set in the wall. Several things didn't add up, however; whenever she'd hurt people in the past, they'd just been knocked unconscious for an indeterminate period of time. Sometimes they seemed to just come out of it on their own, and other times they remained trapped in their comas. This time, however, students were being petrified, which wasn't the same thing. It was more like they were actually _dead._

So she had later concluded that she was not the one behind the reopening of the Chamber of Secrets. Her blackouts were most likely the work of the Voice.

"I need it back," she muttered, looking around wildly. "He's the only one who understands..."

* * *

When Ginny found herself on the second floor near the abandoned bathroom once again, her eyes became transfixed by the ominous message on the wall.

_Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever._

It sounded like the sort of the thing that the Voice would say.

Hugging herself, she wondered what the message had meant, exactly. Who had been taken? Were they there now? Were they even still alive?

"Ginny."

She jumped, frightened into thinking for a moment that it was the voice speaking to her- but then she realized that the voice always sounded lower, more gravelly. This person's tone was far smoother, and somewhat soothing. She turned to see an older boy, smiling at her gently. Instinct told her who it was.

Smiling at him, she exclaimed, "Tom!"

* * *

Author's note: Hurrhurr. Only the prologue and already a cliffie? I just radiate evilness, don't I?

Welcome to my YGO/HP crossover! This idea came to me randomly one day, and once I started writing I just couldn't stop. Here's the thing: if you look at my profile, you'll see several unfinished stories and think, "Pfft. She ain't gonna finish this one."

UNTRUE! Because you see, it's already almost finished! I only have two or three chapters left before the story is complete. However, I'll be pacing my updates to about once every four or five days. Just cause I'm evil like that.

If you're wondering about romance: there aren't going to be any pairings in this story. Mostly just precursors to canon relationships, such as Harry/Ginny. Ginny/Bakura is NOT intended to be a pairing.

Hope you all enjoyed the prologue. Please review!


	2. Chapter 1: Welcome to Domino

**Paradigm Shift**

**Chapter 1: Welcome to Domino**

Muggle technology, Ginny decided, was utterly terrifying.

She sat rigid in the seat, one hand clutching at her stomach while the other gripped the armrest so tightly that she thought she might break it off. Whose brilliant idea was it to create a metal tube that could fly? The thing kept bumping up and down in an extremely unnerving fashion. At least with broomstick riding she could see where she was going and have some control over the movements. In this case, she would just have to hope that the muggles would know what they were doing.

It had been Dumbledore's idea to send her on vacation for the summer. Although she would have much rather stayed at home during the break, there really wasn't any point in arguing with the headmaster. Her mum had been fretful over the costs of the trip, but Dumbledore had assured her that he would be sponsoring everything, as he was "concerned for the welfare of my students".

Ginny pulled a face at that. Her fourth year had been very strange; she'd started having memory lapses in the fall. Naturally they'd freaked her out, considering that she had a bad experience with memory lapses; her possession by Tom Riddle (a.k.a. Lord Voldemort) was not something easily forgotten. She had Harry to thank for even being alive. Stabbing the diary with the basilisk fang had probably been what saved her.

She'd eventually confessed to Harry and the others about the holes in her memories; for some unknown reason, she'd been uncharacteristically afraid to tell anyone about them. They had eventually convinced her to take the problem to Dumbledore himself, who after examining her assured her that she was not being afflicted by Voldemort.

Of course, the lapses had soon become the least of her worries, what with Umbridge trying to take over the school. There'd been the incident around Easter as well that was especially disturbing to her: while picking up the groceries for her mum in Ottery St. Catchpole, some random boy had pointed at her and screamed, "Demon!" before running away as though his life depended on it.

She'd told Ron about it later, asking him if he knew what it was about. He'd only shrugged and asked if she wanted to play wizard's chess.

"Ugh, no thanks," she'd muttered.

As the lapses started growing more frequent, Dumbledore had recommended that she spend some time away from England altogether- preferably somewhere very far from the Dark Lord's influence. She wasn't really sure why she'd chosen to blurt out Japan as her desired destination; it had seemed like a good idea at the time. Now that she was actually on a plane, however, she was rethinking it.

Along with leaving Britain, the headmaster had also suggested that she try living like a muggle ("I think you'll find that it's far more comfortable than most wizards believe.") So far she was not impressed. He thought that something was wrong with her magic and believed that exposure to places of great magical content (like England) wasn't exactly good for her. Granted, she had her wand for emergencies, but still...

The landing was probably the worst part. She grimaced and almost barfed at the shudder that went through the aeroplane as it touched down, but breathed a sigh of relief when it arrived at the gate and stopped moving altogether. Grabbing her carry on bags, she filed out of the plane with everyone else, hoping that finding her larger suitcase wouldn't be too difficult. Dumbledore had sent her the two suitcases for her trip, and she'd groaned at the thought of packing them. After all, she was to be staying in Japan for almost the entire summer; she'd return to England on August 20, a little more than a week before school started up once more.

Biting her lip, she wondered how she was going to find her host. According to Dumbledore, he would be waiting for her at the exit from the international terminal, but she didn't really know what he looked like. She was staying with a muggle family called the Mutous for the duration of the trip. They were apparently in school right now, and arrangements had been made for her to sit in on a few of the classes. There was a boy about her age- Yugi- who was apparently very easy to get along with.

Rolling her two suitcases behind her, she stepped out of the sliding doors of the international terminal in the Domino International Airport. There were many faces before her, all craning their necks and trying to find the person they were waiting for. Conversations in Japanese were struck up all around her as relatives and friends greeted one another amiably.

Ginny was suddenly confronted with an elderly, slightly overweight man dressed in overalls and a bandanas. His eyes were a curious color- violet- and he looked generally like the kind of person who would be willing to help you if you fell down.

"Ginevra Weasley?"

Unsure what else to do, she nodded. It was a little strange to hear her name pronounced with the Japanese inflection.

He beamed at her. "Ah, wonderful! I'm Sugoroku Mutou. That nice man- Professor Dumbledore, I think it was?- let me know that you were on your way. I'm sorry that my grandson couldn't come; he had to be in school today."

"It's no problem, really," she replied, shrugging.

He blinked in surprise. "I thought you were English?" he said. "Your Japanese is nearly flawless!"

Ginny had this answer ready. "Japanese was the language I chose to study at school. I've had a lot of practice." She couldn't very well say, 'Yeah, my headmaster cast a language charm on me.' That would make for all kinds of wonderfully awkward moments. She'd had enough of those back when she was crushing on Harry.

She followed Mr. Mutou to his car, noting that Domino seemed like a very busy city. When she commented on this to him, he chuckled.

"Well, yes; we have something of a reputation here in Domino. Ever heard of Duel Monsters?"

"I haven't, no."

"We'll have to introduce you to it, then!" he proclaimed. "Our city is home to two of the greatest champions in the game." He puffed out his chest proudly as he spoke. "One of which happens to be my grandson."

"Really?" She was surprised. Yugi had been described as having a quiet disposition. "That's cool." She was unsure of how enthusiastic she was supposed to be at this. Just how intense was this 'game' they played here? It couldn't possibly be as exciting as Quidditch- her preferred sport.

They drove through streets lined with tall, glass buildings. At one point, she spotted one tower that seemed far taller than the rest, dominating the skyline. The architecture for it was a bit ridiculous; it looked almost as if the building was wearing a hat.

The Mutous lived in a small gaming store called "Kame Game". A bell tinkled as Mr. Mutou pushed his way through the door, revealing counters full of cards. Ginny noticed that all of the cards depicted unusual monsters. Some were cool looking, but others were just a bit creepy. Promotional posters of the game covered the walls.

"I'm afraid you'll have to room with my grandson," Sugoroku said apologetically. "He has a trundle that we can pull out for you. It's already been made up for you."

"Thank you, sir," Ginny said, bowing and hoping that that was the right response. She couldn't remember the brief lessons on Japanese etiquette that Dumbledore gave her very well. It appeared to satisfy her host.

"Just call me Grandpa," he said; she was a bit taken aback by that. "Everyone does."

Yugi's room wasn't huge, but it was big enough to fit both the regular bed and the trundle bed and still have room enough to move around easily. She pushed her suitcases up against the wall and threw her carry-on bag onto her bed before heading back downstairs to the sitting room. There was the strange box that muggles called, 'television', as well as a couch and several chairs.

She spent the next couple of hours alternating between getting settled in and flipping through channels. Muggles had some strange ideas for entertainment, she reflected, watching something called a 'cartoon' in which the characters fought one another using swords that could explode, or something.

The bell tinkled again, and she started; Yugi must have arrived. She heard him call out a greeting to his grandpa; Mr. Mutou answered good-naturedly. Ginny stood and moved toward the door, not sure what to expect and feeling a bit apprehensive.

When she did catch sight of the kid, it took all of her willpower not to let her jaw drop.

The hair looked lethal.

Magenta-tipped spikes stuck up in the back, while blond bangs framed his face. His eyes were similar to his grandpa's, but they were more of an amethyst shade than violet. He also barely came up to her shoulder.  
Still, the smile he gave her was bright and gentle.

"Hello!" he said, bowing to her. "Welcome to Japan. Ginevra, right?"

She bowed back. "Thank you, Yugi. And please called me Ginny. Ginevra's what my great-aunt Muriel calls me."

He grinned at her. "Not the best aunt, I'm guessing?"

She grimaced in reply. "She has nothing better to do than criticize everyone around her most of the time. When she isn't doing that, she's complaining loudly about all her aches and pains." Talking about Muriel brought back some of her longing for home, but she suppressed her wince; she didn't want Yugi to think she was uncomfortable.

He seemed to see right through her, though. "Homesick?"

"A little," she admitted, smiling sheepishly.

"It's perfectly normal," he assured her. "You're going to be here for awhile. Just wait; you'll feel at home in no time. Anyway, sorry I can't be a better host, but I have homework to do."

"Ooh," Ginny remarked dryly. "Fun."

He laughed a bit. "I know, right? You're lucky you're off school right now." With a quick wave, he headed up the stairs to his- their- room. Ginny knew better than to go off of a first impression, but he seemed to her to be a very nice kid. He was also surprisingly easy to talk to, reminding her of Harry just a little bit. Feeling her happiness dim when remembering Harry, she slumped on the couch with a sigh.

So far so good, though. No memory lapses to speak of.

Hopefully she hadn't spoken too soon.

* * *

Ginny was to shadow Yugi at his school on Wednesday, three days away. For now, though, it was tour day. He showed her around Domino, pointing out all the good spots- the arcade (whatever that was), the best shopping area, the park, the city center, the Domino City Museum, and the KaibaCorp Headquarters.

"It's probably the biggest company in Domino," Yugi told her as they stared up at the huge skyscraper. "The CEO, Seto Kaiba, is the other Duel Monsters champion that Grandpa told you about. He's not exactly the most sociable person, but he's alright underneath the attitude."

"You keep mentioning Duel Monsters," she said thoughtfully as they turned and began walking back towards the game shop. "You're grandpa said that he would have to get me into it. Why is a card game such a big deal around here?"

He stopped suddenly, his face carefully blank. Ginny blinked, wondering why her question had warranted such a reaction from the normally open and friendly boy.

After a long pause, in which Ginny wished she could have sunk into the ground, he replied, "Well, it's a bit more intense than most card games."

"How so?"

He seemed a bit more comfortable now, falling back on his more friendly speech pattern. "The creator of Duel Monsters, Pegasus J. Crawford, also invented a machine- we call them dueling arenas- that uses holographic technology to bring the cards to life. So it's a bit like using magic to summon monsters and stuff. That's why it gets so much hype around here."

Ginny had never heard the world 'holographic' before, but she could easily understand the "bring to life" concept. "Well as long as the monsters aren't really there..." she laughed, but it was strained; why did she suddenly feel so ill at ease?

Yugi looked as about as comfortable as she felt. "Yeah..."

They lapsed into exactly the sort of awkward silence that Ginny had been hoping to avoid. Her eyes were soon drawn to something that she hadn't noticed on Friday: the gold upside-down pyramid that hung from his neck. She'd refrained from mentioning it at first, despite the fact that she was burning with curiosity. The eye on it looked very familiar, but she couldn't place where she'd seen it before.

"That's an interesting necklace you're wearing," she commented.

He shrugged. "It's my Millenium Puzzle," he explained. "I guess you could say it's my good luck charm."

"Is it from Egypt?"

He looked surprised. "How'd you know?"

"My brother Bill's a-" She broke off suddenly, realizing that she had been about to say 'Curse Breaker'. "-an expert on Egypt," she said instead, trying to pass off her hesitation as confusion over what his career was called.

"You mean like an Egyptologist?"

"Right. He's shown us some artifacts before."

"Wow," he said, grinning. "That's pretty amazing." He lifted the item up a bit so that it was easier for her to see. "My grandpa found this in the tomb of a Nameless Pharaoh. Back then it was just a bunch of puzzle pieces in a box, but I managed to solve it. It took me years, though."

"So, why is it-"

"Yugi!"

They both turned at the shout just as Yugi was bowled over by a blur of green and blond. It turned out to be another kid about his age, blond haired and much taller than his friend. Ginny stepped out of the way while the newcomer ruffled Yugi's spiky hair. Surprisingly, his hand didn't come away bleeding.

"And you must be the exchange student," he said to her, taking her by surprise. He stuck out a hand. "Katsuya Jonouchi, at your service!" He elbowed Yugi and muttered not-too-discreetly, "You didn't mention that she was hot!"

Ginny rolled her eyes, having heard it all before. It was true that she had gained something of a reputation at Hogwarts; she had just broken up with Michael Corner and was considering taking up Dean Thomas' offer for a date. Yugi, on the other hand, appeared to be very flustered by his friend's statement and sent her an apologetic look, to which she responded with a shrug.

The customary English greeting was a bit surprising. "Hi, I'm Ginny Weasley," she said, opting to put the Japanese inflection on her name. She shook his hand, noting that it was calloused.

Jonouchi nodded at her and grinned before turning back to his friend. "Just to let you know, Anzu says that she can't meet us later today. Bakura says that he'll be showing up, though, and Honda's still on."

Yugi explained to her, "I thought I'd introduce you to all my friends at lunch today." He paused, suddenly looking nervous. "If that's okay- I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to, I understand."

"It's fine," she quickly assured him, but was feeling a bit nervous about it herself. Ginny knew how to be social, but that didn't mean that it would be easy to talk with four other Japanese people who already knew each other very well. She was most likely going to be playing the role of fifth wheel in the conversation, a prospect that wasn't very appealing.

_Deal with it, Ginny_, she told herself firmly. _You've been in weirder situations before_.

She, Yugi, and Jonouchi were the first to arrive at a small sushi place on one of the corners in the main downtown area. The blond had spent most of that time badgering her about what England was like, despite Yugi's nudges. She ignored the homesickness and answered as best as she could, although she couldn't really elaborate much on the subject without giving away the fact that she was a witch.

Like every other person she'd met thus far, Jonouchi was also acquainted with Duel Monsters; like Yugi, he also seemed to be pretty good at it, having been the runner-up at some tournament called 'Duelist Kingdom', run by the American creator of the game Pegasus J. Crawford. For some reason everyone seemed to feel the need to emphasize the 'J' that was his middle initial.

A few minutes after they sat down at a table, the door opened again and another boy with brown hair in a spike entered, brown eyes searching the shop. When he spotted them, his frown switched to a grin and he headed over.

"Hey!" he called, pounding fists with Jonouchi. He drew up a chair, sitting on her right side (Yugi was on her left). "Bakura not here yet?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that he might be a couple minutes late," Jonouchi replied, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

The newcomer snorted. "Make that five minutes, Jou." He looked at her and, like Jonouchi, shook her hand. "Hiroto Honda. I see you've already met the idiot and the King of Games."

Jonouchi lunged at him. "I'll show you who's the idiot!"

Ginny couldn't help but chuckle a little at their antics. Honda grabbed Jonouchi in a headlock and started digging his knuckles into the side of the blond's head, while Jonouchi unsuccessfully tried to punch him in the face. Yugi sent her another apologetic glance; she mouthed 'don't worry about it' back at him.

An amused voice broke up the fight. "Am I interrupting something?"

The four of them turned simultaneously to face the newcomer, who looked to Ginny like he was an albino. For some reason, her gut twisted horribly at the sight of him, and she suddenly felt as though she might not be so hungry after all. She didn't understand- the boy had a kind face and a quiet voice, but for some reason she found herself leaning away from him.

The boy noticed. "I'm sorry if I startled you."

Shame made her ears burn. "You didn't," she said, shaking her head more for the effect of trying to clear it than to tell him 'no'. Still, the faint feeling of recognition resounded through her core; she couldn't imagine why or how that was, but just decided to pass it off as a weird feeling.

"I'm Ryou Bakura," he introduced. "And Yugi told me your name is... Ginevra?"

"Ginny, please," she said for what felt like the millionth time. She was glad that he didn't offer his hand, but instead bowed in the formal Japanese fashion. She stood quickly and bowed in response, not wanting to seem rude.

She wasn't sure what she ordered, but she was pleasantly surprised to discover that they tried to include her in their conversation as much as possible. The food was decent as well, though not as good as her mum's home cooking. Gradually, they all broke off into their own conversations; Honda and Jonouchi were arguing once again while she, Yugi, and Bakura discussed her home country.

"My father's British as well," Bakura explained to her.

That didn't surprise her; he didn't really look Japanese like the rest. "How come he moved here?"

He shrugged. "Business." He didn't look all that comfortable with the subject, so Ginny didn't press him. "How's the weather there?"

"Dismal as ever," she sighed, and they both laughed. It was true, though. There was suspicion that the dementors were breeding and causing the miserable conditions throughout the country. It had been like spring never came; the air stayed relatively chilly even at the end of May, a stark contrast to the blast of heat they'd had the previous summer.

"You guys start school in, what... August?" asked Yugi.

"September," she corrected him. "Which in my opinion is better than April. At least we get summer vacation."

"It's not that bad," Yugi argued defensively. "We do get some decent sized breaks; we'll be done for six weeks in July."

They argued good naturedly about it for a few more minutes, with Bakura inputting his opinion once or twice. The weird sense of recognition remained throughout the discussion, and didn't leave her until they all parted ways to head back to their respective homes.

"You seemed to get along with them well," Yugi said cheerfully.

"Uh-huh," Ginny answered, trying to sound upbeat. And yet... the uneasiness in the pit of her stomach still lingered.

* * *

Confused? I don't blame you, but don't worry. All will be explained in time.

Here's the anonymous review reply:

**Peter Kim: **Thank you for reviewing! And yes, Ginny had the Ring in the prologue. I can't remember where the inspiration came from for that; I think it was because I made a connection between her possession by Voldemort and the Sennen Ring.

Sorry if this seems to start off slow. If you're wondering what the timeline in Yu-Gi-Oh! is, so far the only big thing that's happened is Duelist Kingdom. This story will cover the Battle City arc.

Thanks for reading, and please review! Reviews warm my heart.


	3. Chapter 2: Mind Games

**Paradigm Shift**

**Chapter 2: Mind Games**

School in Japan seemed relatively normal. Each teacher had given her a very formal welcome to the class, and she sat next to Yugi every time. It was in his chemistry class (which reminded her of potions, only it was somehow even more complicated) that she met his only female friend, Anzu Mazaki.

Ginny had liked her at once. What with Anzu having almost all male friends, she had a very good handle on how to keep boys in line. She herself could easily relate, having had to live with six brothers throughout her entire life. When Ginny admitted that she didn't go out shopping very often (she didn't, what with her family not having a whole lot of money), Anzu had insisted that they go out together the next Saturday. Though she felt guilty about using the funds that Dumbledore had provided in such a way, she decided that she was entitled a treat at least once.

As Jonouchi and Honda had to stay behind to mop up for detention, Ginny, Yugi and Anzu all began the walk home together. Yugi seemed preoccupied about something and clearly wanted to talk about it with Anzu alone, but he also didn't seem to want to offend Ginny. She excused herself quickly to look in a shop window, letting the two of them walk on the other side of the street.

While she was examining an outrageously high pair of heels, a commotion made her turn around. Her eyes widened she caught sight of a hooded man shoving Yugi aside, grabbing the Millenium Puzzle from him and scurrying down an alley. Glancing to either side to check for cars, she sprinted across the street to where Yugi was sprawled on the ground, Anzu shouting furiously after the hooded man.

"What happened?" she demanded.

"Some loser pretended to check his fortune and then stole his Puzzle!" Anzu told her, still seething. "The nerve..."

Yugi pushed himself to his feet, looking about ready to panic. "I need to go after him!"

"You can't go by yourself!" Anzu argued, her expression changing from enraged to worried in a flash. "What if it's a trap?"

"You go with him," Ginny told her, mind racing. She didn't know why a piece of jewelry was so important to Yugi, but he was hosting her; she had to help him. "I'll get back to the school and tell Jonouchi and Honda." Something told her that the local authorities were not the ones to alert in this situation.

Yugi shook his head. "No, Anzu can get there faster." His friend reluctantly nodded.

They agreed to meet back there if they came up with nothing. Yugi and Ginny hurried into the alleyway, their eyes immediately drawn to the arrows posted on the sides of the buildings.

"Definitely a trap," muttered Ginny. Yugi nodded in agreement.

They followed the arrows, eventually reaching an abandoned warehouse. Glancing uneasily at one another, the two entered the decrepit building. Ginny fingered the wand she had hidden in her hoodie pocket, itching pull it out just in case she needed to cast a stunning spell. She felt naked and defenseless without her wand at her side, especially after all the DA lessons she'd taken the previous year.

"Hello?" called out Yugi warily. Ginny shadowed him, walking backwards just to make sure no one jumped them from behind. As their eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, he gasped, causing her to whip around to make sure he wasn't hurt.

Her eyes fell on a giant blue and red... thing. She opened her mouth to ask what it was, but he answered her question before she could speak.

"A duel arena?"

So this was a duel arena? It was pretty big, though it still didn't compare to the Quidditch pitch at Hogwarts. Even so, she'd seen the size of the cards. Exactly how big were the monsters supposed to be?

"There it is!"

Driven in by a peg on the blue platform was the Millenium Puzzle. Looking at it, Ginny felt something tug at her mind again- the same kind of familiarity that she'd felt when meeting Ryou Bakura earlier. Shaking off the strange sensation, she watched as the creepy hooded guy revealed himself to be on the red side, challenging Yugi to duel for the Puzzle.

Ginny winced. She'd wanted to eventually see one of those duels, but not like this.

* * *

Ryou sprinted in the direction that Anzu had pointed him towards, worry for Yugi giving him an extra burst of energy that let him run all the way there. The arrows leading through the maze of alleyways only served to increase his anxiety, and by the time he arrived at the warehouse he was almost panicking.

Yugi was dueling, but it was clear that he was struggling. To his surprise, Ginny was there as well, watching the game with avid interest and not just a little concern. He came to stand beside her, causing her to jump for the second time now. He tried not to let it bother him, but he wished he knew why he seemed to make her uneasy.

"Did Anzu send you?" she asked.

He nodded, still very out of breath from his run there. Both of them cringed when one of Yugi's monsters was destroyed by his opponent's Zera the Mant card.

"Hey, that's Bandit Keith," Bakura realized suddenly, frowning. "I remember him from Duelist Kingdom."

"I don't know what's going on here," she responded quietly. "But apparently it's not really Bandit Keith. He's being controlled by someone else. Like a puppet."

Bakura shuddered. He remembered all too well that some strange things had gone down at the last tournament, what with Pegasus's mind reading and Yugi's Puzzle holding a spirit of some kind inside it. He had snuck onto the boat there along with Anzu and Honda, but had not been prepared for all of the shadowy business that had gone down.

"He says he's using a Millenium Rod, or something," she continued, frowning. Turning, she looked him squarely in the eye. "What's happening? Why is there supposed to be some kind of Egyptian pharaoh inside Yugi's Puzzle? How can someone control someone else? Is this a different kind of magic?"

He gawked at her, nonplussed. "What? What do you mean... ah... you know, it'd be better if Yugi himself explained it to you," he admitted. "I'm pretty confused by it myself."

She held his gaze for a moment, then nodded and turned back to the duel.

They continued to watch the duel, calling out encouragement whenever they found it appropriate. Bakura noticed that Ginny's hand seemed to stray to her pocket a lot, but he was unable to get a glimpse at what was in there. Zera the Mant attacked Yugi's Dark Magician, destroying it and bringing Yugi down to just one hundred life points.

Abruptly, Ginny chuckled. Something about it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

"I think it's time we crashed this little party," she commented, suddenly sounding very different from her usual self. Catching his eye, he noticed a red glint that he was sure hadn't been there before. "Don't you agree, Ryou?"

He took a step back. "What-"

Light flashed blindingly, and he shielded his eyes with his wrist in an attempt to protect them. Ginny didn't look the least bit alarmed by it, seeing as the light was coming from her. His eyes widened upon noticing the thing that hung from her neck- something that had most certainly not been there before.

"I think the link between Bandit Keith and his master should be severed," she sneered, the same eye that sat upon Yugi's Puzzle flaring into existence on her forehead. Yugi didn't really seem to notice; Bakura wondered dazedly why he hadn't been blinded by the light. Suddenly, Keith was clutching at his forehead, groaning. Ginny was smiling smugly; the glare had died down, but the eye remained.

"What's going on?" roared Keith, sounding more like himself. Shocked, Bakura realized that Ginny had somehow freed him from the puppetmaster's control. Yugi looked surprised as well, but he still didn't seem to notice what was going on with Ginny. Abruptly, Keith slumped against the monitor on his side, eyes rolling into the back of his head. Yugi did the same a moment later.

Alarmed, Bakura took another step away when Ginny's scarlet orbs came to rest on him once more. Her eyes had been brown, before, and her expression had been kinder. He glanced from her to the ring around her neck.

She took another step forward; he stepped back again. The dangerous smile was still there.

"You seem to believe that I am a threat," she commented, her voice darker and edged with... something. He couldn't put a name to it. "Now ask yourself: why would I want to hurt someone as foolish and naive as you?"

He gulped, feeling his palms grow sweaty. "I... I... Who are you?"

She tilted her head. "You don't know me?"

Mustering his courage, Ryou tried to harden his gaze and replied, "I don't usually associate myself with psychopaths. Now l-let her go."

She chuckled again, sending chills down his spine. "I can't do that, Ryou. Ginevra has always been mine. It would be very... difficult to leave her." Her twisted grin didn't change, but she raised her right hand and gouged her nails into her left arm, ripping open the skin there.

"Stop that!" he cried, trying to run forward and not even questioning what he was doing. Faster than he could follow, she grabbed hold of his wrist and twisted it, making him yell in pain until she had forced him to his knees. Blood from the scratches on her arm dripped onto his hair.

She studied him intently, looking almost as though she was x-raying him. She appeared to have fangs as she bared her teeth in another smile. "Yes, I think you'll be very useful in the future." Almost casually, she produced a card from her pocket.

Ryou tried to pull out of her grasp. "I thought you said you didn't duel!"

"She doesn't, no."

He struggled even more furiously as the pendant she wore glowed again, and Man Eater Bug appeared, looking very substantial. Sheer panic gripped him and he tried to bite down on the hand of his captor, but she wrapped her hand around his throat and held him in the air very calmly while the monster approached.

No, was the thought that kept repeating in his head, over and over. No no no no no no...

Out loud, however, he screamed, "AMANE!" It came out as more of a choke. Not-Ginny laughed cruelly, digging her nails into the sides of his neck. Her other hand was holding his, strangely, her thumb gently stroking the back of his hand. He shuddered in revulsion and scrabbled against her grip on his throat.

Without warning, she crumpled. Man-Eater Bug vanished.

He took in several grateful gulps of air before he lost consciousness.

* * *

Someone was repeating sending the Reductor Curse at the inside of her skull.

Ginny heard low voices around her and immediately assumed it was her family. Someone was arguing with someone else, more loudly than the rest. There's Ron, she thought dully. A third person was trying to placate them- a girl. _Hermione's here, too. I must be in the hospital wing for some reason. Did I get hurt in Quidditch?_

She pried open her eyelids, squinting against the harsh white light. Ginny frowned, knowing that the hospital wing tended to be dimmer than this. Turning her head to the side, she blinked as everything that came rushing back.

It hadn't been Ron who was yelling- it was Jonouchi. Unsurprisingly, the person he was arguing with was Honda, while Anzu seemed to be overly exasperated with their behavior. Finally, she hit them both upside the head in what was probably an attempt to get them to shut up. They took the hint.

Turning her head to the right, she was able to make out Yugi, sitting up and looking somewhat content in spite of what had happened to him. Ginny frowned slightly, realizing just how many questions she had for him- was there really some kind of spirit inside his "good luck charm"? Who was the guy who was using the Imperius curse on Bandit Keith? Something was going on that she wasn't aware of- Duel Monsters seemed to run deeper than she'd originally believed.

And then of course, there was the main question on her mind: what had happened? She could only remember up to Yugi almost losing. She almost groaned aloud as it came to her: another memory relapse. It looked like getting away from the large concentration of magic had done nothing to help her.

There was a dull throbbing in her arm. She forced herself into a sitting position, causing Anzu to start and hurry over, trying to get her to lie back down. There was a bitter taste at the back of her throat and her head swam. A moan escaped her as the newly found headache intensified, and she clutched at her head, noticing the bandages wrapped around her arm.

She almost freaked when she saw that something was stuck inside her arm.

Ginny, now knowing that she was most likely inside a muggle hospital, forced herself not to freak out at the sight. Her eyes followed the tube coming from it to a packet of fluid next to her bed. She frowned, wondering if it was some way of healing her. She couldn't ask without sounding like a moron, though, so she just said nothing.

"You shouldn't be trying to sit up just yet," Anzu was warning her. "The doctors said that you hit your head pretty hard when you fell down and you might have a concussion. We're just lucky that we got there before the fire started to really get out of hand..."

"What..." Ginny broke into a fit of coughing when her voice came out raspy. "What fire?"

Anzu looked over at Yugi, who apart from looking completely exhausted seemed fine. He looked dismayed when he saw her. "I'm so sorry about this, Ginny. I didn't mean to-"

"Just tell me what happened," she cut him off, grimacing at the rasp in her voice.

"Something knocked us all out," he began without preamble. "I don't really know what. When I came to, Bandit Keith was going nuts. That guy controlling him made him smash my Puzzle, and I had to put it back together. You and Bakura never woke up during that time, and Bandit Keith smashed up some machinery that set off some sparks and started the fire." He looked extremely guilty now. "I should've gotten you out of there, but I couldn't... I couldn't leave it."

"Something scratched up your arm pretty bad," Honda said, taking up where Yugi left off. "We're not really sure what. Apparently Bakura's wrist got twisted badly too- we think he fell on it funny. Other than that and a bit of minor smoke inhalation, you should both be fine."

Ginny closed her eyes and nodded. So it wasn't really a memory lapse, then- the guy who was controlling Keith had probably shown up without their noticing and knocked them all out. Despite only having some scratches and smoke inhalation, she felt almost as bad as she had after the battle in the Department of Mysteries. At least this time her ankle wasn't broken.

A flash of white caught her eye, and she noticed that Bakura was still out of it on her left. For the briefest of moments, she felt amusement at the sight welling up in her- a kind of dark satisfaction that was unfamiliar to her- and then it was gone, leaving her feeling bad for the boy. He'd only come to help out his friend.

Turning back to her spiky-haired host, she said pointedly, "I think you owe me an explanation."

He nodded miserably and proceeded with his story: how the reason he became a prominent duelist in the first place was because the creator of Duel Monsters, Pegasus, had taken away his grandfather's soul. How there was a spirit inside the Millenium Puzzle that he gradually became friends with, as the spirit had helped him countless times. How he'd defeated Pegasus and gotten his grandfather released. How now there seemed to be someone else who was after his Puzzle and the spirit inside, who he was determined to protect.

Ginny remained silent throughout this explanation, but her mind was whirling. Being a witch, she knew that all of the things he was speaking of were theoretically possible, but a lot of it sounded a bit far-fetched. The fact that the spirit of the Puzzle was his friend was especially difficult for her to understand, having been a victim of possession in the past. Everyone, Yugi included, seemed surprised at how calmly she took it.

"I would understand it if you wanted to go back to England," he finished, hanging his head in shame. Ginny frowned.

Did she want to go back? Well, yes, but Yugi seemed to be a genuinely good person. This weird war thing that was starting to go on probably wasn't his fault; he just happened to be the owner of a three thousand year old puzzle that housed an ancient spirit inside of it.

_Don't be stupid, Ginny,_ she berated herself. _You've already got enough trouble as it is at home. You're already on the side that's fighting Voldemort. You don't need to get involved in another conflict when you're only going to be here for about two months anyway. You can't afford to stay here, not with this happening._

"Yeah," she said aloud, still feeling a bit guilty when Yugi flinched. "Yeah, I think I will."

* * *

Easier said than done.

She'd forgotten that she would need to find some way to contact Dumbledore. Yugi helped her to send the letter, since she had to use muggle post (Dumbledore had given her an address that he said would work), but since it was international mail, it would probably take at least a week before she got any sort of response. Yugi had asked her if she wanted to send an e-mail to someone, but she just shook her head, not knowing what in the name of Merlin e-mail was.

She was stretched out on her trundle bed, eyes fixed on the ceiling, when Yugi came in.

"Hey," she greeted him. He nodded stiffly in reply, something that was odd for him. She focused on him, frowning; even though she had said that she was leaving, he had still been friendly towards her, acting mostly normal and telling her it was probably all for the best anyway. Now, though... something was bothering him.

Hesitantly, she began, "I know it isn't really any of my business, but are you all right?"

He ignored her. Now _that_ was downright strange. Yugi never ignored anybody, always giving his undivided attention to anyone who was speaking.

Figuring that she probably shouldn't be bothering him, she laid back down, placing her hands behind her head.

"We haven't met yet."

The words startled her, and she sat up again, staring at him. He was sitting at his desk, staring down at the homework papers that he'd put there unceremoniously after he walked in the room. His voice sounded deeper than usual, and he seemed troubled by something. Once again, she was struck by how very out of character he was acting-

"Oh," she said aloud as it came to her. "Er... hi. I'm Ginny."

"I know."

Well, that made sense; he and Yugi were sharing a body, apparently. Her roommate had explained to her that the spirit was much more serious; he hadn't been kidding. She stood up to leave the room, figuring that he probably wouldn't want to talk her, but as she reached for the doorknob he spoke again.

"Are you afraid?"

Ginny paused. Was she? "Yes," she answered quietly. "But..." _I've seen worse_. In her mind's eye, Tom Riddle smiled at her coldly. The dementor slid into the train compartment. Bellatrix's black eyes were boring into hers as she threatened to torture Ginny to get her to comply. Her leg snapped like a twig as she was thrown backwards by the force of a Reductor curse.

"Then why are you leaving?" he asked. "It's making him upset. He hides it well, but I know him."

'Him' meaning Yugi, no doubt. And just like that, the guilt was back again. How did she explain this one?

"Look," she tried. "I'm sorry I can't help, but some things are going on back home that are just as crazy as this whole thing, believe it or not. I've chosen my battle."

He didn't respond, but he did look at her. Unlike Yugi's eyes, his had a more reddish tinge to them. For a moment, that same sense of familiarity she got around Bakura became so strong that she thought she was going to be nauseous. It vanished a moment later, making her feel woozy enough that she had to grasp the wall for support. It felt like someone had just put a Disillusionment Charm on her. Uncharacteristic hatred rose up within her, and before she could stop herself she spat, "Who are _you_ to judge _me_?"

Horrified, she clapped a hand over her mouth as his eyes narrowed dangerously. The feeling also disappeared, leaving her with nothing but confusion. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I..."

The Pharaoh opened his mouth to say something, but was stopped by a shout from Yugi's grandpa. "Yugi! Bakura's here!"

In an instant, his entire demeanor changed, and Ginny knew that he'd switched back to Yugi. She apologized again quietly, to which he assured her that it was fine. He left the room, leaving her to sit back down on the bed, wondering what had made her act that way. Did it have something to do with the memory lapses? Was it just hormones? Was she still feeling insecure without being around magic?

A moment later, Yugi poked his head back in the door. "Ginny, Bakura wants to know if you'd like to go over to his place for a little while."

Surprised, she looked over at him. "I don't see why not... I guess." In truth, she had no clue why Bakura would want to include her; he'd been avoiding her for the past few days, only speaking to her when he had to. It was similar to the way she'd acted around him when she first met him, but at least now he was apparently attempting to notice her again.

They met Bakura down in the shop and headed over to the apartment where Bakura lived. The albino explained to her how he lived there alone most of the time, since his dad was almost never around. Seeing his rather forlorn look, she asked him if he was all right. He said yes; it was obvious that he lied.

It was a clean, nondescript apartment. Ryou ordered some take out for the bunch of them and started up a conversation about Duel Monsters. Ginny joined in, as Yugi had been showing her the ropes and letting her choose her own cards. She hadn't tried out the deck yet, but she didn't think that her choices were half bad. She chose to sit back while Yugi and Bakura had a mock duel, eyes darting to each side trying to figure out their strategies. Bakura was a decent enough player, but Yugi was victorious in the end.

"Want to have a go?" offered Bakura to her. For some reason, he seemed a lot more tense.

Ginny shrugged. "Sure."

* * *

Yugi watched as Bakura and Ginny each shuffled their decks. Yami was still smarting a bit from Ginny's earlier barb, so he didn't bother him and just let him cool down in his soul room. He himself wasn't really sure what to make of her sharp question; the entire time he'd known her, she'd been mostly easy going and only a little bit nervous.

Ginny started off strong, summoning Gravekeeper's Curse and instantly taking five hundred of Bakura's life points (they were playing with two thousand). She played a face down and ended her turn, a slight frown appearing on her face. If Bakura noticed this, he didn't show it, playing several of his Occult cards in order to destroy her monster. When he did so, Yugi noticed Ginny cringe and take a deep breath.

"Okay," she said. "Draw! I summon- wait," she said, frowning. "What? Why? No!"

Yugi didn't know what was going on, but he could tell something was wrong. Bakura, however, leaned forward, a look of anticipation and- was that fear?- on his face.

"I know you're there," he said shakily. "Stop hurting her."

"Oh, do we care, now?" sneered Ginny, suddenly sounding very un-Ginny like. "Like it or not, Ryou, this is a Shadow Game now. She's feeling everything."

"Bakura, what's going on?" Yugi asked sharply. He felt Yami stir within the Puzzle, his curiosity now piqued. Ginny looked over at him, her eyes appearing to cut straight through him, and arched an eyebrow.

"Not going to bring him out?" she asked, pouting. "I've always wanted to meet the Nameless Pharaoh." Darkness seemed to be leaking out from her, spreading through the room until it was enveloped in very familiar shadows. The drain on his strength was noticeable at once, and he felt Yami's alarm pulse through him, in spite of the fact that he was certain he could handle it as long as he wasn't playing the game.

"She wants so badly to leave, you know," Ginny continued. "As if I would let her. And she owes me so much, too. No one else would play games with her when she was all alone in her room. No one else made her stronger. I was the only one really there for her. Of course, she has no idea what's going on."

Yugi let the Pharaoh take over at this point, taking a backseat role. "Who are you?" Yami demanded.

The Millenium Item that materialized almost made him shout in alarm. Bakura's gaze seemed to darken significantly at the sight of it. It occurred to Yugi at that moment that Ryou already knew- he already knew that Ginny somehow possessed a Millenium Item, as well as a spirit.

A spirit with less than honorable intentions, it seemed.

"Just someone with a vested interest in the Items."

At that moment, the hostile look melted, to be replaced by a mixture of horror and annoyance. Yugi knew at that moment that Ginny was back. Her wild, frightened eyes became fixed on him.

"What the hell is going on?" she demanded.

* * *

Ginny had rarely been this befuddled in her life. It was Tom Riddle all over again, and she couldn't get the laughter out of her head. Tiny icicles were pricking her skin; she tried to rub her arms to warm herself up, but found that it was nigh impossible. The voice- it was whispering in her ear, completely familiar, almost comforting, but-

"Get out!" she screamed.

Control was ripped away from her almost painfully, and her mouth was moving against her will. "I can make her hurt herself. I can make her hurt you."

"It was you!" exclaimed Yugi- no, not Yugi, the Pharaoh again. "You're the one who scratched her arm."

"Does that surprise you?" Inwardly, all she was hearing from him was, _You need me. You need me. You need me..._

_I do not,_ she spat furiously. Unbidden, a memory of one of Tom's messages came back to her.

_Are they bullying you? They shouldn't. I can help. I can hurt them if I want to._

This wasn't Tom, though. This was different.

Abruptly, the symbol on the Ring and the Puzzle lit up on the Pharaoh's head. She laughed- and some of the amusement, in a twisted way, was her own.

"I wouldn't," the voice jeered through her. "You see, she and I have been together for a long time-"

_You don't have to make it sound like we're a couple,_ she snapped. He ignored her.

"- and our souls have become somewhat... molded. Destroy me, you'll cause irreparable damage to her very being. She's depended on me too long."

_I don't even know you!_

Then everything vanished. Ginny blinked, realizing that she was in a room of some kind. It was a kind of Quidditch shed. Posters of her favorite teams lined the walls. Her wand sat on a table, and photographs of her family and friends were scattered on the floor. Her broomstick and robes were in a pile in one corner.

There were no windows, and only one door was visible. It stood ajar, but she couldn't tell what was on the other side. The room was a bit dimmed and stuffy. A sense of claustrophobia enveloped her, being used to more open spaces.

The door opened. Scarlet eyes stared at her.

"Hello, little girl."**  
**

* * *

Author's note: Bakura makes his appearance! And I once again leave you hanging. Sorry!

Yes, Ginny's had the Ring all this time. It never got transferred to Ryou or something like that. As a result, things are a bit different between Ryou and Yugi's gang; he's more included in Yugi's circle of friends. For example, he was part of the friendship circle in episode one. He went to Duelist Kingdom voluntarily. He also never took away Pegasus' Millenium Eye... but we'll get to that later.

Oh, man...that would mean that there was no one to save Honda and Anzu from Pegasus in that one episode. Let's just say that Ryou dissuaded them from going anywhere that night.

Thank you for reading! Please review... feedback is always welcome.


	4. Chapter 3: Ishizu and the Tournament

**Paradigm Shift**

**Chapter 3: Ishizu and the Tournament**

********Marik Ishtar liked being in control.

He liked the feeling of power surging through him as he used the Millenium Rod to control his servants. He liked knowing that they would do whatever he asked without questioning him. He liked that they completely succumbed to his will, shuddering before their eyes went blank and there was no longer any room for incompetence.

So, naturally, Marik did _not_ like losing control.

He wasn't sure what had happened. Everything had been proceeding perfectly- even the arrival of the vessel's two friends hadn't seemed significant. Then, like a phone line that had been cut, he'd lost the connection. There was no warning, no sign of anyone attacking it. It was just... gone.

For three days, he'd been brooding on this new development. It didn't make any sense to him; who was the one who had destroyed his connection to Bandit Keith? It couldn't have been Mutou- he didn't seem to have any shadow powers on his own. The Pharaoh was out of the question as well, as he needed his vessel to act. Which left either of the two spectators- the white haired boy and the ginger haired girl.

From the information he had on Mutou's friends, he knew that the albino-type boy had been a part of their group for some time. He wracked his brains for a name- Ryou Bakura. He'd apparently moved to Domino about half a year previously and become friends with Mutou's little gang. The girl, however, was a mystery; he had no records of her and she didn't seem to be a duelist.

It must've been her, he told himself. There's nothing about Bakura possessing any kind of Shadow Magic.  
He'd have to look into it.

* * *

"She's not waking up!" Ryou looked over at Yugi, who was kneeling on Ginny's other side. Her body lay sprawled on the floor, the shadows having dispersed awhile since. The thing that disturbed the both of them was the fact that her eyes were wide open, but devoid of any signs of life. The necklace was on the coffee table, showing no signs of being at all unusual, but Yugi knew that it had to be what caused Ginny's possession.

"You should probably tell me what's going on," Yugi said quietly.

Ryou shook his head in frustration more than anything else. "Whatever's taken her over took a special interest in me at that warehouse..."

He went on to explain the way Not-Ginny had threatened him and twisted his wrist, as well as how it had apparently been her than knocked out Yugi and Bandit Keith. He admitted that he wasn't sure why he and Ginny had suddenly fallen unconscious, just before it seemed she was either going to kill him or do something else equally unpleasant.

They both lapsed into silence for the moment. "What do we do now?" murmured Bakura softly.

Yugi looked over at the redhead. He had a feeling that there was a whole other reason for why she'd even come to Japan in the first place- whether she herself was aware of it or not. Something told him that she wouldn't be able to leave now; she was too interconnected with the rest of the Millenium Items.

"We can only wait."

* * *

Her heart was beating a tattoo against her Adam's apple. He looked like Ryou, but every line was accentuated; his eyes were sharper, his muscles more defined. Lean and fit- the absurd thought that he'd make a good Quidditch player crossed her mind. A feeling of fear rose up in her; she'd believed she was done with possession. She thought that Tom was the last time she would have to deal with evil spirits.

The walls seemed to close even further around her. Astutely, she told herself, "You've faced worse." Death Eaters had stared her in the face. Did she run then? No, and she wasn't about to start now. She forced herself to keep her feet planted on the floor, even when he began to circle her with an almost animalistic grace. The wildness in his eyes belied the complete control in his movements.

He came to rest in front of her, mirroring her pose: arms crossed, head held high. She gripped her sleeves more tightly, hoping to stop her hands from trembling. A number of questions flew to mind- who was he? What did he want? Just how long had he been hiding in her mind? Was he the cause of the blanks in her memory over the past year?

He smiled. It wasn't the same as Tom's smile, which was cold and without any amusement whatsoever. This was completely feral, with the same dark humor she herself had felt laughing at the senseless Pharaoh earlier.  
_Senseless? He seemed smart enough to me._

"Trust me, he's a fool," said the invader. Ginny jumped, having not noticed that he'd taken a step closer.

"Trust you?" she managed to croak out in disbelief. His smile widened, and he leaned forward, making her realize that he was taller than her as she craned her neck backwards. She refused to take a step back; she wasn't about to lose this battle of wills. She wasn't a helpless eleven year old girl anymore...

Her wand! Maybe she could use it to fight him, and possibly find a way out of this room, which was both strange and familiar at the same time.

Suddenly his hands were gripping her wrists. Her instinctive action was to kick him, but he moved out of the way easily enough. Ginny knew that he could sense her fear now, as her pulse sped up to an almost frantic pace.

"There will be exactly five stab wounds on your front when you wake up," he all but purred. Ginny tried not to shudder and failed. "They think that it's that easy to separate the two of us..."

"Quit acting like you've been here forever!" she snapped, sounding more confident than she felt.

"Oh, but I have been here for several years," he said, tilting his head to the side in a way that might have been innocent if it weren't for the calculating gleam in his eyes. Ginny frowned.

"I think I'd remember if I had a spirit possessing me."

"No, you wouldn't."

Ginny couldn't help it. She lost, stepping back in an attempt to get some distance between them. He jerked her wrists, gripping them so tightly that she was sure he would bruise the skin. He raised an eyebrow at her struggle, and she doubled over when a sudden ripple of agony went through her nerves.

"I protected you," he told her while she tried to regain her sense of self. "I made sure that the people who hurt you could never do so again. I destroyed that meddling fool's hold on you. We were stronger, but unfortunately human minds can be so disgustingly weak."

Searing pain ripped through her arm, and she had to bite down on her lip hard enough to draw blood to keep from screaming. He drew back a moment later, a dagger in his grasp. They stared at each other for a little while longer before he walked back to the door.

"I would cancel your trip home, if I were you," he told her. "If you leave, you may find that your precious brother Ron may not be feeling so well."

Fury and terror rose within her, but she was no longer staring at a door; instead an inactive television greeted her sights. She filled her lungs greedily, feeling as though she hadn't been breathing for ages. A wordless exclamation came from behind her, and she rolled over to see Ryou staring at her with something akin to horror.

"But we took it away...!" he whispered.

Almost knowing what she would be seeing, Ginny looked down to see the Millenium Item's point buried in her skin. Her arm throbbed as well; dazed she looked at it to see a single word dripping blood there.

_Remember._

* * *

The letter she wrote was almost frantic; her writing was usually neater, more precise. In this case, however, she felt that she had no time to lose. With luck, Dumbledore would feel the need to send a reply to her before actually coming to Japan to pick her up. She could not let him see what was wrong with her.

Yugi and Ryou tried to stay with her as much as possible, afraid that she- or the spirit, whichever- would hurt herself again. Yugi kept the Item (he called it the Ring) away from her, but somehow it was always back with her things whenever she woke up.

That was another problem: sleeping. Ginny's nightmares were always the murky, shadowy type; she could never, for the life of her remember them, but she almost always woke up in a cold sweat. She knew by looking in the mirror that dark circles were forming beneath her eyes. The word carved into her arm had at least scabbed over, as had the imprints by the Ring. Apparently, it was called the Millenium Ring.

The question was, how had it come to be in her possession?

She'd sat in on their classes twice more, with every one of Yugi's friends still treating her almost normally; they were concerned, but they didn't act like she was going to explode whenever she came near them- something that Ginny was grateful for. If there was one thing she absolutely detested, it was when people stared at her like she was some sort of freak. The worst part of it was that, in a way, she was.

Anzu had probably been the most helpful of them all.

"So, I actually had an idea today," she told Yugi and Ginny after school one afternoon. "There's supposed to be a new exhibit at the museum on Ancient Egypt. Maybe we could find something about the Pharaoh and... the Spirit there."

Ginny and Yugi exchanged glances. It wasn't a bad idea, actually; Yami had apparently been getting more and more restless as the days went by. He seemed to insist that danger was approaching whether they willed it or not. They all had two guesses as to what that was: either the mind control freak, or the spirit in the Millenium Ring. Or both.

The three of them met later that afternoon in front of the Domino City Museum, Ginny having decided to bring the Ring with her in a tote bag that she'd bought for herself when she and Anzu had gone shopping the previous weekend. Ginny walked a few paces behind Yugi and Anzu, while the two conversed quietly. A jolt alerted her to the fact that Yami had taken over and was the one leading them through the museum.

The exhibit looked ordinary enough, although not nearly as exotic as her trip to Egypt when she'd been twelve. She looked back on the trip fondly, remembering how incensed she'd been at not being allowed to go into the tomb with the skeletons of muggles with three heads. She was stubborn, but her mum was a rock.

Yami paused in front of a door that sat ajar, a contemplative frown on his face. Apprehension began to build in her as he ducked beneath the rope separating it from the main exhibit and heading down a flight of stairs, Anzu only hesitating a moment before following. She almost yelped when she looked down and saw that the ring had found its way around her neck once more. The pointers were going wild, pointing down the stairs.  
For whatever reason, it wanted her to go down there.

Ginny gulped. She definitely didn't fancy the idea of doing anything that the Ring wanted, but what choice did she have?

The room they arrived in was already lit, and had two enormous stone tablets inside glass cases. One of them had carvings that looked almost identical to some of the Duel Monsters cards Ginny had seen. Her hand unconsciously went to the deck in her pocket. She'd taken to carrying it around with her, feeling some unusual comfort in having her monsters with her.

Goosebumps rose on her arms as she looked over at the second tablet, the one which Yami now stood transfixed before. On the left side was a man wearing what seemed to be priest attire (if anything Bill had taught her counted), with a dragon above him. Facing him was something that had a chilling resemblance to the Dark Magician, and commanding him was...

"It looks like you!" breathed Anzu.

At that moment, the Ring chose to go wild. Ginny whirled around, causing the Item to almost drag her towards the woman who had suddenly appeared behind her. Thoroughly annoyed, she ripped the thing off her neck and flung it across the room so hard that it collided with the wall. It fell to the ground lifelessly.

If the woman was startled, she didn't show it. Instead, she bowed her head to Yami. "My Pharaoh."

Straightening, she added: "I have been waiting for you."

As though magnetized, Ginny's eyes flew to the necklace the woman wore. Another Millenium Item?

The woman answered before she could ask. "My Millenium Necklace allowed me to foresee your arrival."

Briefly, an image of Professor Trelawney flashed through her mind, and she had to force herself not to laugh. However, there was something about the woman that was distinctly different from the batty divination teacher; she seemed much more self-assured and confident, with a quiet pride that was easily noticeable.

"Another Millenium Item," Yami commented, echoing Ginny's earlier thoughts. "Tell me, why does this tablet appear to depict Kaiba and I?"

"The tablet reveals a battle fought between a great pharaoh and a priest three thousand years ago," explained the woman without preamble. "They were using their two strongest monsters: the Blue Eyes White Dragon and the Dark Magician." Gliding over to the display case, she indicated a part of the stone that looked almost as if it had been chipped off. "The name of the victor was here, but it's a mystery as to who it was."

Ginny frowned, disappointed. So far, there was nothing about her Item. "Er... sorry if I sound rude... but who are you?"

"I am Ishizu," the woman answered, not looking the least bit perturbed. "The Item that you flung across the room was the Ring, was it not?"

"Yeah," Ginny mumbled. "I'll just... go get that now..."

"No need," said Yami, gesturing towards her. And it was back. Again.

"The Item is attached to you."

Ginny grimaced at Ishizu's words. The woman certainly had the right of it. It was mostly figuratively, but sometimes literally. She wondered if it had stabbed her other times, and she'd just forgotten about it. A laugh rang through her head, causing her to twitch slightly.

Ishizu was staring at the Ring. "There is a lot of darkness within that Item."

_Really? I hadn't noticed_, was Ginny's sarcastic thought.

"I'm afraid I do not know much of the Ring- its powers or anything else," Ishizu told her gently. "All I do know is that it once belonged in the hands of a magician and was passed onto his student later."

_You're a magician?_ Ginny asked, genuinely curious and momentarily forgetting her frustration.

A scoff. _Hardly._

"Am I right when I say that you have received an invitation to the square later this evening?" Ishizu was speaking to Yami once again. Ginny glanced at Anzu, confused, but Anzu only shrugged in return.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because," said Ishizu, turning away from them in what was a clear dismissal. This time, Ginny was reminded of Dumbledore. She suddenly wished that she'd brought her wand with her.

"It's in your best interests to go."

* * *

"Someone remind me why we're here again," groaned Ginny. "Nothing's happening."

It was supposed to be a Duel Monsters tournament meeting. The duelists were gathering in the downtown area, all wondering who the mysterious person behind the invitations was. Ginny herself was only slightly curious; she couldn't really understand how a tournament would pertain to the Pharaoh's memories. She stood on his left, surveying the people around them, while Anzu glanced up at the clock every so often.

Out of nowhere, a loud, obnoxious voice rang out behind them.

"Hey! Yugi!"

Ginny glance over her shoulder to see a tall, well-endowed blond hurrying over in their direction, waving wildly. Anzu let out a barely audible groan, causing Ginny to look over at her in curiosity.

The blond didn't even seem out of breath when she stopped, grinning. "So, I'm guessing you're in the tournament too?"

Yami nodded. "That's correct, Mai."

The woman- Mai- seemed to notice Anzu at that exact moment. Her grin, if anything, got wider.

"You're looking snazzy, Anzu. Is this a date?"

Immediately the brunette's face became the color of a tomato, while the Pharaoh just looked confused. Ginny had to cover her mouth to stifle a giggle as Anzu stammered out, "We're just friends, Mai."

Ginny wondered if she should just blend into the background and let the three of them catch up, but it seemed that she wasn't going to be spared Mai's scrutiny.

"Who's this?"

Feeling a bit affronted by the way Mai was talking as though she wasn't there, Ginny stepped forward. "Ginny Weasley. I'm from England."

"Really?" Mai blinked. "I've dueled there a few times before. Can't say much for the food. Or the weather. You seem to have a pretty good handle on the Japanese, though; got some kind of secret strategy?"

"Lots of practice," Ginny lied.

"Good for you, hon," Mai said, winking at her. "It's not everyday a British teenager gets to visit a country like Japan. You staying with Mr. King of Games, here?"

They lapsed into a conversation about Ginny's stay so far, with her recounting most of what had happened (though she left out the stuff about the Millenium Items). She was wearing a jacket that concealed the Ring from view, though she could feel the cold from the metal seeping through her camisole.

"Ugh," Mai muttered. "I'm starting to see some familiar faces."

Anzu grimaced alongside her. "You got that right. There's Dinosaur Ryuzaki and Insector Haga. And Ryota Kajiki, by the restaurant. It's like a repeat of Duelist Kingdom or something."

The Pharaoh didn't say anything, staring out into space, mouth twisted in a frown of puzzlement. A few minutes later, the numerous screens mounted on different buildings- which had been flashing advertisements previously- all changed to reveal the face of a man with brown hair and cold blue eyes.

"Kaiba!" exclaimed Yami.

Mai didn't look surprised. "Should've known it would be him."

"Greetings, duelists," began Seto Kaiba, speaking in a tone that screamed, 'I'm so much better than you.' "Welcome to the announcement of my Battle City tournament. It will make the Duelist Kingdom tournament look like a joke!"

"I don't know which is bigger, his ego or his face on the big screen," muttered Mai.

"Do you even have to ask?" Anzu sighed.

Kaiba went on to explain that the tournament would be played using something called a duel disk and that registration would begin the next day. The tournament itself would commence in a week. What astounded (and exasperated) Ginny the most was that he gave his speech while hanging out of one of those muggle flying machines.******  
**

The Pharaoh accepted his challenge easily.

_Well_, Ginny reflected, _at least my stay won't be boring._

She was almost sure that the Spirit laughed.

* * *

Author's note: Shorter chapter maybe?

Yeah. Ginny sees Seto Kaiba for the first time. She's not really going to get to know him that well. I don't have much to say at the moment; my nerves are frazzled. I just watched some guy do a Let's Play of Slender. I know it sounds totally lame, but it was actually terrifying (and funny). Every time Slenderman popped up, the guy screamed like a little girl. So did I.

Random thought: you know how Shiro's an albino in Deadman Wonderland? Bakura's cousin, anyone? Yes, I know that Bakura isn't really an albino. (Although she honestly reminds me of Marik more than anything else).

I'm gonna let my nervous rambling fizzle out now. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please review!


	5. Chapter 4: Precursor to a Meeting

**Paradigm Shift**

**Chapter 4: Precursor to a Meeting**

Ginny woke up in an alleyway across from a hooded figure on Tuesday morning. Not really the best way to start off the day. The figure was slumped on the ground, showing no signs of moving or waking up anytime soon. She also discovered a duel disk by her arm, her deck still inserted into it. It contained a card that she'd never seen before that apparently came from the other man's deck: Dark Necrofear.

Her head was throbbing as she stumbled out into the street- right into Ryou.

"Ginny!" he exclaimed, catching her as her knees almost gave out, feeling like jelly. Her cards scattered on the sidewalk, but she suddenly didn't have the energy to pick them up. Ryou helped her in that respect, handing them to her when he'd gathered them all. His eyes fell on the Item resting against her abdomen, and his brow creased into a frown.

"The Spirit again?"

Ginny nodded, forcing herself to stand. The Battle City tournament was due to begin the next day, and for some reason the Spirit had taken to going on nighttime excursions; each time, she always ended up with some card in her deck that she previously hadn't owned. The week had been a vicious cycle of foreign emotions and sleep deprivation. He was, after all, using her energy whenever he went out, and it was beginning to take a heavy toll on her body.

"He shouldn't do that," murmured Ryou; his eyes seemed almost pained when he looked at her. "You're falling apart."

She regained her balance, smiling ruefully. "Not really much I can do about it. I'm sure Yugi or the Pharaoh would try to stop me from leaving, but they don't really seem to know about it."

"You should tell them."

"I can't," she explained, letting out a frustrated sigh. "Everytime I try, it's... it just doesn't work. I don't even know if it's the Spirit or not; I open my mouth, but it's like the words are glued into my throat. It doesn't explain why I _can_ tell you, either."

Ryou only shook his head.

He helped her get back to the game shop, by which time she was feeling more like herself. That was another thing- whenever Ginny woke up, the word felt completely and utterly alien to her. She was beginning to see the unconscious bodies of his opponents without feeling any real concern. A sense of being completely out of place would take over.

There had been once instance, several nights ago, when she'd woken up unable to remember her own name.

She thanked Ryou, who then left; she herself turned to enter, when Yugi himself came out and bumped into her.

"There you are," Yugi said, looking relieved. "I woke up and you were gone already."

"I went for a walk," she replied. "Ryou and I chanced upon each other for a little while."

"Have you had breakfast yet?"

"Not hungry."

They left together, heading to the square for what seemed to Ginny to be the millionth time. Yugi had brought both his deck and duel disk with him, while she had both her deck and her wand stowed in her pockets. The Ring was once again hidden beneath her jacket. With the upcoming tournament and the emergence of the Ghouls, who had attacked Jonouchi a few days previously, the Spirit had become a secondary concern in the minds of everyone but herself and Ryou.

England had never felt so far away. Dumbledore had received her second message and sent a letter back assuring her that he would ignore her earlier wish to leave. He would, however, be sending someone to check on her on the second of July; she thought it would most likely be an auror that worked for the Order.

As expected, duelists were all gathering in preparation for the tournament. It was, apparently, going to be more of a melee than anything else; competitors would be allowed to run rampant throughout the city, challenging anyone they saw to a duel. Ginny separated from Yugi in order to buy herself a pastry to fill her empty stomach, rolling her eyes when Kaiba made his announcement from an enormous flying machine in the sky.

It was incredible how one muggle could project such an image without the use of magic.

_Quite a sight, isn't it? Of course, the assumption that wizards have of muggles being completely weak and ineffectual is incorrect. All mortals are equally pathetic._

_If I were to die, she thought viciously, then what happens to you?_

_…_

_Doesn't that make you mortal?_

He didn't respond, but an unearthly rage ripped through her, and a strange understanding that he was anything but fixed itself on her mind. She struggled against it momentarily, but the surprising strength of his hatred overwhelmed her, covering her vision in a red haze. Groaning, she clutched her head, silently begging for him to leave her alone.

_Everything's a mess,_ she thought dully. _We're all mixed up now. Who will we be, when this is all over?_

* * *

Seeing everything from his hostess's point of view could be rather disorienting at times.

From the very beginning, Ginevra had seen herself as an outcast within her large family. The only one that she really spent time with was the next youngest, Ron, and even he couldn't completely relate to her, as he was a boy and she was a girl. When Bakura first became attached to her soul, these feelings of loneliness had crashed over him like a tidal wave.

She fueled his sense of injustice. He fueled her sense of resentment.

The combination of the two built up at a time when he was still adjusting to living within the recesses of another's mind- a time when his confusion was his only companion. He found himself feeding off of her emotions and sensations, drinking in every detail of the outside world through her. It was a dizzying change of perspective, but the primal rage remained.

Once he was strong enough, he blindly lashed out at the only possible enemy: Ron.

Possessiveness was a new feeling to him; he was being influenced by the side of her that desired to rise above it. She wanted to be independent, so he tried to help her by ridding her of anyone who would make her weak.  
Friends made her weak. Her mother made her weak. Her brothers made her weak.

He made her stronger; he taught her to withstand pain. She became even more withdrawn from the rest of her family, hiding her injuries. None of them ever noticed that he was making her play shadow games against him, most of them with her being the loser. He always chose to release her quickly afterwards, but the lesson would still be taught. She'd lived through nightmares that no child should see.

Now, years later, he had managed to somewhat isolate himself from her thoughts and focus on his own goals. The opposite was happening to her; she was gaining elements that he attributed to his own personality with alarming speed. Whether or not this development would work in his favor was a mystery to him, but it appeared that there wasn't anything he could do about it.

Already bored with the tournament proceedings, he slid carefully under her skin, this time allowing her to stay conscious. She almost didn't seem to mind anymore as he made her limbs walk away, leaving Yugi to begin the tournament alone. Perhaps he would find another of those Ghouls to victimize, strengthening their deck even further. It amused him how quickly the cockiness of his opponents would vanish when they realized that they weren't exactly dealing with a little girl anymore.

He would have to be mindful, all too aware of how he was pushing the limit with his hostess' body. It certainly wasn't fragile by any means; she was an excellent Quidditch player and needed to be strong to be considered skilled in that particular sport. It was one of the reasons why he had ultimately decided against transferring to Ryou Bakura.

It couldn't have been a coincidence that he and that boy looked almost identical. He suspected that reincarnation was involved somehow; perhaps the boy carried some kind of personality trait that he himself lacked? Most likely not. The only thing that he felt he was missing were some crucial memories, but the white haired Brit showed no indication of recalling some kind of ancient past.

Once again out of boredom, he took out her wand, staring at it disinterestedly. He tried muttering that one spell that she was so fond of- something to do with bats- while pointing it at a passerby, but it didn't work. He growled in frustration; it would have been immensely useful if he could use her magic as well as his own, but it never seemed to work for him.

_It's not exactly an easy spell,_ she pointed out calmly, having understood his train of thought. _I've had years of practice. You've never seriously studied- at least, I don't think you have. I wouldn't, anyway. The Statute of Secrecy mandates that you can't use magic in front of muggles._

She knew better than to think he would care about some moronic wizard's rule. Bakura let out a wry snort, but her first point still stood. He really had paid absolutely no attention to any of her classes at Hogwarts. In all the years he'd been with her, magic hadn't been what interested him. He was more focused on wondering what exactly he was doing there, and why he was tied to both her and the Millenium Ring.

_Why didn't you enter the tournament? I know that you want the Millenium Items. Whoever leads the Ghouls could own one._

Annoyance suddenly shot through him, and he quashed her tiny voice. Her mind folded in on itself, automatically sending her to her soul room, where she would spend her time until he allowed her to take over again. He walked towards the warehouse district, not particularly caring where he was going. The Millenium Ring pulsed with power beneath the jacket, and he briefly considered challenging the woman at the museum to a shadow game.

No... that was better left for a later time.

"Well, well... if it isn't the girl who thinks she can do us all in," a voice jeered.

Bakura twisted Ginevra's mouth into a cruel smile. Since she always seemed to be dying to know what he was up to, he forced her to wake up again. In spectral form, she appeared beside him, blinking in surprise before looking down at herself, jaw dropping.

_I can do this?_ she said.

_If you really want to._

This time, there were more of them. About four Ghouls surrounded him, each one looking eager to duel him. Ginny glanced at him, the skepticism clear on her face. _You're not seriously going to duel all of them._

Before he could answer, three of the men suddenly collapsed, eyes rolling into the back of their heads. The fourth removed his hood, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Hm," he said snidely, his cold tone perfectly mirroring his aristocratic features. "Now what, pray tell, is a Weasley doing in a place like Japan?"

* * *

The journey to Domino was taking longer than he would have liked, but Marik told himself that patience was key. If he wanted to become the Pharaoh, the stage would have to be perfectly set. It wouldn't be a bad idea to use Mutou's friends as bait, but that was something he would focus on when he actually arrived for the tournament. For the moment, he had more pressing matters to concern himself with.

The girl.

He still couldn't find anything on her. Kazumi, his hacker in the Rare Hunters, claimed that no records of her existed. He still didn't have the slightest idea of who she was or why she was in the Japan. He didn't know what sort of power she might have possessed.

There was a twinge in the back of his mind, as he felt alarm from three of his followers as they passed out. He frowned, hand immediately flying to the Millenium Rod. There was a fourth in that location; he immediately tried to invade the mind of that slave, but found himself blocked somehow. It wasn't the same as when the connection with Bandit Keith had been snapped.

This man was actually, consciously, stopping him.

"What the hell is going on?" he snarled.

* * *

_Malfoy,_ Ginny snarled, more surprised than anything else. It was difficult to believe that Lucius Malfoy was in Domino City, of all places. Wasn't he supposed to be in Azkaban for being a Death Eater? Her own confusion flashed onto 'her' face briefly, and the Spirit's stance shifted slightly. His hand was gripping her wand, she now realized.

_You can't use that,_ she told him. _Let me take over; I'll handle this one._

He ignored her, jaw clenching.

"The Dark Lord has taken an interest in that man's- Marik, I believe- activities. There have been some strange coincidences where he and his Ghouls are concerned." Malfoy shrugged. "The power to controls minds is, of course, nothing new to wizards, but to see a muggle capable of doing it is quite something. There's more to his power than meets the eye, wouldn't you agree?"

_Spirit!_

"Put the wand down, mortal," he said lowly. "You'll regret it if you don't. I remember you now." There was a glint of manic rage in his eye that Ginny hadn't noticed before, and her mouth went dry. "You're the one who gave that diary to little, unsuspecting Ginevra, aren't you? I don't think you fully understood the being that lived inside of it, but you should know that I don't take kindly to intruders."

Lucius scowled, not bothering to lower his wand, which was now aimed at her heart. "Are you mad, Weasley? Why suddenly speak of yourself in the third person?"

_Listen to me, you bloody imbecile!_ she shouted at him. _This isn't one of your games, where you can toy around with your opponent and just send him off to the Shadow Realm to live out his days in pain, or whatever. He is going to kill you. Now, you can't use magic. I can. What, then, is the most logical thing to do here?_

No response.

_Hey!_ she called again, but he didn't even appear to hear her. Malfoy smirked.

"If I were Bellatrix, I suppose I would torture you for fun first," he sniffed. "But as I am not... _Avada Kedavra_!"

The Spirit easily dodged the oncoming spell, a card already in his hand by the time he straightened. "Negate Attack!" he barked, causing a shimmer in the air to appear before him. It absorbed the next Killing Curse with relative ease, but he was forced to roll out of the way as an enraged Malfoy began shooting a stream of dark magic at him. Ginny felt one of the spells burn through her, despite being a specter.

The Spirit growled in frustration, still refusing to allow her to help. This time he summoned the Mysterious Puppeteer in defense mode, taking the brunt of the curses. She didn't allow herself to relax; the monster's strength was clearly waning fast.

Without warning, unbearable pain hit the both of them. The Spirit fell to one knee, facial features twitching as he tried to fight it off. Ginny was barely aware of her surroundings, biting her lip hard enough to draw blood while a thousand hot knives licked her skin. Dimly, she realized that they had been hit by the Cruciatus Curse.  
This seemed to take its toll on Mysterious Puppeteer as well, because he disappeared. A scream- she couldn't tell if it was hers or the Spirit's- resounded throughout her mind, as both of them flinched. She cried out in fear, while the Spirit began to laugh insanely. The Ring was glowing from beneath the jacket.

Lucius Malfoy approached, an expression of disgust on his face.

"I was unaware that filthy blood traitors such as yourselves were mentally unstable," he said smoothly. He pointed his wand in between their eyes. "This is for the best, then."

Ginny summoned her willpower and forced her way back into her body, grappling briefly with a surprised Spirit. She grabbed her wand again while he tried to reassert himself, but was too slow; Malfoy's mouth was already forming the beginning of the incantation-

He fell on top of her, unconscious.

Relief almost made her go weak at the knees. With trembling arms, she shoved him off of her, noting the Spirit's barely suppressed rage at her forced control. She looked up to see one of the goons standing over her, sparing a single glance at Malfoy. His eyes were blank, and the Eye of Horus was glowing on his forehead. A metal muggle wand was aimed at her. Somehow, she knew that whoever it was wasn't looking at her, but at the person who existed inside her.

"I'm not sure what that was all about," the man said in a monotone. "I would like to know who you are, who he is, and what your intentions are. I do not care if your safety is compromised by giving me this information. If you do not cooperate, my mind slave will not hesitate to shoot you. Please bear in mind that I have other matters to attend to and do not have all day."

Before she could react, the Spirit took over once again, standing up and snorting. "That sounded suspiciously like a disclaimer."

Was it just her, or did the man's mouth twitch?

"Just so you know, that man-" the Spirit jerked his head in Malfoy's direction- "had a better chance of killing me than you do. I don't believe we've officially met yet."

"Oh. I see." The man tilted his head to the side like a curious child. "You aren't the girl. Is she being suppressed?"

"There was an implied question in my words, you know," the Spirit said, gritting his teeth.

Stiffly, robotically, the goon waved away the annoyed comment. "My name is currently obsolete. I'll be able to properly introduce myself tomorrow, when I arrive in Domino. I request a meeting with you at the docks at approximately nine a.m." He said all of this tonelessly, clearly uncaring if the Spirit agreed to it or not. Ginny knew that was a mistake.

"And what makes you think I'll even show up?" he growled, bristling. She thought she saw his hand twitch towards their deck again.

"I have something you want, tomb robber," said the puppet. Ginny thought she saw the other her freeze for a split second, before his stance became more relaxed. A frosty smirk appeared on his face as he regarded the man, now looking interested for once. A thought suddenly came upon her- why was the Spirit allowing her to hear all of this? Surely he didn't believe that she would just lie down and let him conspire with Yugi's enemies.

_Really, Ginevra? I don't think you really want to tell little Yugi about it. Have you told him about my nighttime excursions yet?_

He laughed at her. She sent a wave of anger at him and could've sworn she saw the hairs on her body's neck stand up.

The Spirit straightened, ignoring her. "We'll be there."

* * *

Another shortish chapter? Geez. What's wrong with me?

Granted, you might be thinking: she thinks that this is short? She's insane. You're probably right, but I normally have a bad habit of writing very long chapters.

Sooooo... a bit of insight as to what it was like for Bakura when he first became connected to Ginny. I'm pretty sure that Yami Bakura didn't get his memories back right away; he just knew that he needed to get the Millenium Items. And even if I'm wrong, then that's what happened in this story! Only this time, he didn't even know about the other items.

Anonymous Review Replies:

**Guest: **Yay! You don't think she's a Ginny-sue! That's one of my greatest fears. Honestly, I'd like to think that I'm trying to avoid it, but I'm really just writing whatever comes to me.

**Guest: **Ohmygoodness thank you so much! It makes me all giddy to read that!

**Anonymous: **Oh... hehe, this was one of my unexplained things. Sorry, I'll explain it now: basically, Ginny fought back and knocked herself out. I wasn't planning to explain this, but since you asked... there you go. Not very exciting, I know. Yeah, the thing with Ryou being a bit separate happened in all the versions, I think. But then, I don't think friendship was as emphasized in the Japanese version and the manga. At the very least, Anzu didn't have a million friendship speeches. It made me feel bad for Ryou. As for Ginny, I'd say it's more of her drawing away from them at the moment.

Anyway, I'm glad you all are enjoying the story so far! Please review!


	6. Chapter 5: Poisonous Influence

**Paradigm Shift**

**Chapter 5: Poisonous Influence**

Day one of the Battle City tournament consisted of Yugi winning a total of two duels. Jonouchi matched him, having defeated Esper Roba and Insector Haga and winning several locator cards in the process. Yugi had been victorious over another Ghoul (the same one who had taken Jonouchi's Red-Eyes) and a muggle "magician" working for Marik named Pandora. Ginny had been able to catch the second half of Yugi's first duel after getting back from the docks, witnessing Marik introduce himself to the Pharaoh for the first time.

Yugi didn't switch back with the Pharaoh when the duel ended, but Yami looked concerned for her all the same. "Are you all right, Ginny?"

"Fine," she answered, wishing that she didn't have circles under her eyes. "That was incredible, by the way. My brother can pull off some pretty good strategies with wi- chess, but that was something else."

Ron would have been impressed, she knew. A pang hit her.

He nodded. "Thank you."

She smiled a bit when Yami and Jonouchi argued about whether or not Jonouchi should get his Red-Eyes back. The blond won, convincing the Pharaoh that he would win it back in a proper duel later. It was the sort of camaraderie that she constantly saw between Harry and Ron- that I-know-you-too-well look that best friends had.

She also saw the entirety of Jonouchi's duel with Haga, gathering that the blond dueled with a rather unorthodox style compared to other competitors. The blue haired boy threw a hissy fit after losing, acting like he was a balloon that had been popped and practically fainting. Ginny parted ways with the others shortly after, heading back to the game shop when her stomach rumbled.

_I'm crashing after dinner,_ she thought, running her fingers through her hair. _I can barely stay awake as it is._

A hand grabbed her forearm, dragging her into an alleyway.

* * *

Ryou Bakura had never liked the sight of blood.

When his sister had scraped her knee while trying to learn how to ride a bicycle, he hadn't been able to move; his eyes were transfixed on the torn skin with horror, and in the end it was her sobs that brought their mother out with some band-aids. He'd cut his finger while trying to slice up an apple when he was twelve. The sight had made him feel faint.

So when Ginny stumbled out of an alleyway for the second time that day- well, night by then- arms coated in blood, he had to swallow the bile in his throat and focus on standing up straight.

_Focus, Ryou,_ he told himself, feeling his stomach churn. _Ginny needs help._

She didn't even seem to know where she was. Her eyes were covered in a film of horror; it was clear that she didn't really see him. He pulled her back into the alleyway, noticing a bloodstain on the brick side of the building. Thankfully, no bodies were in sight, but the blood must have come from somewhere; as far as he could tell, Ginny herself wasn't hurt.

"He wasn't..."

He turned to look at her. She wasn't crying; she never did seem like the type to really cry all that much. Her fingers curled around his wrist, staining his pale skin with crimson. Brown eyes stared at him beseechingly, asking him silently why this had happened.

"I don't know," he whispered, trying to get her to her feet. She refused to budge, staring at the spot of blood in fascination. A hand reached out to touch it...

"Stop that!" Ryou cried, slapping her hand away. This seemed to bring her back to reality, but the smile she gave him was far from reassuring.

"We made him pay for trying to hurt us," she hissed. Was the Spirit possessing her? "We hurt him instead."

Then she collapsed.

* * *

Anzu bit her lip.

They were all present, gathered around the sleeping Ginny in Ryou's living room. Yugi was crouched by her head, the Millenium Puzzle on the floor in front of him. Ryou was sitting by Ginny's feet, a concerned frown on his face. Honda was sprawled on the couch, looking to be the calmest of the group. Jonouchi was fidgeting with his locator cards on one side of Ginny, while she herself sat on the other.

Ginny was laid out on her back, arms resting by her sides while her head leaned to the left. Her breathing was deep and even by now, unlike the shallow gasps that she had been emanating before. Perfectly lined up next to her was the Millenium Ring, which they had discovered beneath her jacket after getting her to safety.

"We don't even know if this'll work," Anzu said at last, breaking the heavy silence. "We're trying exorcism here-"

"It's not exorcism, Anzu," Yugi interrupted her softly, raising his amethyst eyes to meet hers. "I don't think that the Spirit was lying when it said that separating them would damage her soul. What we've set up is a kind of protective circle, with the Puzzle as the fuel for it. The Spirit won't be able to hurt us if we stay like this."

"Still..."

Jonouchi sighed. "I don't like it either, Anzu, but this has been going on for too long already."

None of them blamed Ryou for not telling them. To be honest, taking out the bad guy's minions didn't really seem like anything to worry about. Apart from being completely exhausted, Ginny hadn't really gotten any psychological damage from it. This, however...

By the time the rest of them had arrived, Ryou had washed the blood off of the redhead and had her covered with a blanket. She'd been almost gasping in her sleep, as though still having a panic attack despite being unconscious. Ryou had seemed afraid to touch her, so Anzu grabbed her hand and tried just talking quietly to her. Ginny calmed down surprisingly fast after that.

"So what exactly are we trying to do here?" asked Honda, cocking an eyebrow. "I mean, isn't the best option to separate them? I know it might hurt her soul, but this is ridiculous. That thing has really messed her up this time."

"Yami has an idea," Yugi explained. "He thinks that maybe we can force the Spirit to materialize and tell us what it wants. He doesn't really understand how he knows how to do it, but I say that it's worth a shot if it'll help Ginny."

Everyone murmured their agreement with the plan, an edge of uneasiness settling in the back of Anzu's mind. She tried to shake it off, folding her hands neatly in her lap. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ryou yawn. Hopefully, this wouldn't take too long. They were all exhausted and Yugi and Jonouchi needed to be well rested for the tournament, which was resuming the next day.

"All right," said Yugi; Anzu recognized that the Pharaoh had taken over now. "Is everyone ready?"

They all nodded.

The Puzzle began to glow.

Anzu nearly jumped when Ginny's eyes snapped open wide. "Don't move!" barked Yami. She forced herself to sit still, noticing that the redhead didn't really appear to be seeing anything. At the same moment, the Millenium Ring lit up as well, almost blinding everyone in the circle. The Pharaoh once again warned them not to move, saying that they wouldn't be harmed unless they broke the formation.

Ginny's shadow started to stretch outwards, morphing into something large blob until it separated from her body completely, much to everyone's shock. It rose from the floor, writhing, until it morphed into something that none of them expected.

Jonouchi cried, "What the hell?" while Ryou gasped. It took all of Anzu's self control to keep from reeling backwards. Yami didn't move, remaining silent.

It was as though Ryou's twin had grown out of the floor, mahogany irises burning anything they came into contact with. He was scowling at that exact moment, forehead alit with the Eye of Horus as he surveyed them all. Ginny's eyes closed once more, her breathing deepening and evening out once more. He himself cast a shadow, but it was connected back to Ginny's body.

"Really, I don't know what you're all so worried about," he drawled. "She's seen worse."

Ryou's mouth was moving, but no sound came out. For a moment, Anzu was afraid that he would move, breaking their protective circle, but he stayed where he was, shutting his mouth and apparently deciding not to say anything.

"Whatever you did this time affected her badly," Yami said.

"Just some problems with a man that attacked her," the Spirit answered with a shrug. "A circumstance that was not my fault, I should add." A feral grin appeared on his face when he spotted Ryou. "Hello, Hikari. Fancy seeing you here. Such a coincidence that we keep meeting up like this, isn't it?"

"I..."

"The man was going to rape her, you see," the Spirit said, with a shrug. "I just eliminated the problem. His wounds will never heal in the shadows."

"What was wrong with her?" Ryou demanded quietly. His voice shook slightly, but he looked determined, something that Anzu was relieved to see.

"I suppose you could say that she was disgusted with herself."

"Why?" asked Yami sharply.

"I sent him to the Shadow Realm. She decided to try and make him bleed to death first."

A shocked silence filled the room. Then-

"You're lying!" Ryou cried, jumping up.

"Ryou, no!" Anzu and several others yelled, Honda moving over to stop him, but the damage was already done.

"Oops," said the Spirit mockingly, turning to the Pharaoh with a sinister smirk. "Since my limitations have been dismissed, shall we play a little game?"

The room began to darken again; a wave of cold swept over Anzu, causing her to rub her arms in an attempt to stay warm. Jonouchi winced at the familiar sight. Yami's eyes narrowed, his mouth opening to accept the challenge.

_"No."_

Ginny's hand latched onto the Spirit's wrist. Her brown eyes met his, something passing between them in a split second. Suddenly the Spirit's corporeal form vanished, leaving only Ginny with the Eye of Horus. Soon enough, that faded as well.

And the redhead slept once more.

* * *

Sectumsempra.

What Ginny wanted to know was where the hell the spell even came from. She didn't know why she'd said it when she'd had her wand pointed at the slimeball of a man the previous night. The gash that ripped its way across his face had shocked her badly; she'd apparently been sputtering nonsense when Ryou found her later. She didn't really remember that part of it, or anything else that occurred that night.

Yugi wanted her to accompany him to all of his duels that day. She agreed that that was probably for the best, though inwardly she knew that the Spirit was hardly the problem. Oh, no doubt her attacker was suffering in his own personal hell at that moment, but it was what she herself had done that still haunted her. It was all too similar to discovering that she'd strangled chickens or written blood on the walls at Hogwarts.

"I'm sorry that there isn't more we can do," Yugi said to her, interrupting her train of thought.

They were walking alongside a canal. Ginny was amusing herself by watching a family of ducks on the other side.

"It's a little much," she admitted, "But I can handle it."

Their reflections were disturbed by a few ripples in the water. Her own eyes looked normal as ever- not the red color that had been there whenever the Spirit took over.

"When I first found out about the Pharaoh, I was a little overwhelmed too," said Yugi, surprising her. He'd never really spoken in depth about his history with the spirit of the Puzzle. "I mean, how many people find out that there's another person living inside of them? He was a little scary too. I think he was just trying to protect me, but a lot of my opponents ended up hurt.

"It only really hit me when we had a duel against Kaiba. It was on one of the battlements of Pegasus' castle. He was desperate; his brother Mokuba was being held captive, so he felt that he had to win. Yami had him. He was going to lose and he knew it, so he stepped back until he was standing on the edge. An attack would've knocked him off."

Ginny had a feeling that she knew where this was going.

"They were both desperate, I guess. Yami attacked anyway. I had to stop him. It was the first time that I realized that I couldn't just blindly trust him like I'd been doing in the past. We learned how to work together, eventually. I know now that he's doing everything he can, but back then it was all... muddled."

She didn't really know what to say to that. "I don't think the Spirit of the Ring has the best intentions in his heart. I don't expect him to suddenly spew poetry and invite me to drink tea in his... what'd you call it?"

"...soul room?"

"Yeah. That. I think he'd rather slit my wrists and watch me bleed or something." She winced internally at the reminder of Sectumsempra.

Yugi looked like he wanted to say something, but must've thought better of it and remained silent. He then started speaking more quietly, clearly talking to the Pharaoh. Ginny moved a little aways, watching the ducks again. The mother was quacking vehemently at one of the chicks, which had moved out into the middle of the river. It was like her mum scolding one of the twins for running off.

She looked back over at Yugi. He caught her eye and smiled.

She could learn to live with it.

* * *

The docks were, ironically, near the warehouse section of Domino. They were practically deserted at that time of day, which suited Bakura just fine. He couldn't afford to have any mortals trying to get in his way. After some deliberation, he'd decided to completely shut down Ginevra's mind, which meant that she wouldn't be privy to whatever discussion he and Marik had.

The boat wasn't very impressive. He was able to spot several Ghouls moving around on the deck before two people disembarked, both clearly Egyptian. One was much taller and more imposing, with golden eyes and an unreadable expression. However, it was the second that had Bakura's attention riveted.

He hadn't known what to expect from the leader of the Ghouls, but it certainly wasn't a boy.

Marik must have been around Yugi's age, maybe even younger. It was odd to see an Egyptian with blond hair. The lavender eyes bespoke a calculating intellect beyond his age, however; perhaps he wasn't a naive teenager like Yugi and his friends were.

He smirked. "Good morning, Marik." He remembered how, at their last meeting, the blond had scorned him when he'd asked for his name.

Marik raised an eyebrow. "Thief King Bakura. The records of you are woefully incomplete, but the last time I checked they clearly stated that you weren't a girl. I guess beggars can't be choosers."

Bakura felt himself bristling slightly. If he had a needle and thread, he would enjoy sewing that mouth shut.

"I still have not learned the girl's name."

"Would you like her to say hello?" he growled. Marik gave a small, infuriating smile by way of response. The two stared at one another for a good minute or so, Bakura's mind going through all of the violence he would have preferred to be inflicting on the other.

At last, he conceded. "It's Ginevra Weasley. And no, you wouldn't have been able to find any records on her. She's a witch, you see."

To his irritation, not even that managed to so much as faze Marik. "I guessed as much. How many normal people carry wands and shoot spells at one another?"

"I take it you interviewed Malfoy, then."

"No easy task, I can assure you," said Marik, sighing dramatically. "The man had exceptionally strong defenses. Breaking through got easier once we added a bit of physical persuasion; the magical kind are rather fragile without their wands to help them. So tell me: why is the legendary Thief King inhabiting the body of a blood traitor witch rather than the boy who happens to be his reincarnation?"

"I didn't have a choice," snarled Bakura lowly.

Marik brushed aside his comment, looking unconcerned. "As you already know, my name is Marik."

"Know, and don't care."

"And if I told you that I know the location of several Millenium Items?"

Bakura paused. He could see that Marik wielded the Rod, but any information on the others- the Eye, the Scales, and the Key- would be welcome. "I'm listening."

"I propose a deal," Marik said. "If you help me defeat the Pharaoh, then I'll give you the Millenium Rod."

This came as a surprise. So far, no one else who owned an Item seemed all that willing to relinquish it.

"I need it now," continued Marik, lavender eyes regarding him frigidly. "But once I have all three god cards, I won't have any further use for it."

He considered this. He himself had his own reasons for wanting the Pharaoh out of the way, so it might have been easier to just do it Marik's way. However, if the blond's goal was what he thought it was, then their alliance would be shattered in the future. No mattter; if it got him the Rod...

"Very well," he agreed, surveying the other warily. "What do you need me to do?"

* * *

Author's note: Did I write "Author's note" before this last time? I can't remember. Damn, I hate inconsistency. And I'm too lazy to check right now.

ANYWAY! IN MY SLUMBER I DID- Excuse me while I slap myself. I have serious ADD today. Can't seem to focus to save my life.

Anonymous Review Replies:

**Guest: **Hohoho, yes, the Death Eaters will be a bit of a problem... and yeah, I never liked that Ryou/Bakura didn't get more screentime in the earlier seasons. I think he should've gotten involved in the Orichalcos arc or something. Would've liked to see his reaction to Dartz stalking him and the Pharaoh in their ancient past. OH! And if they'd Ryou/Bakura in that arc, they could've had a scenario where the Pharaoh and the Thief King have to work together. Those are my favorite situations.

Speaking of: to my fellow YGOTAS fans! Episode 56 was put up today! I was bouncing up and down in my seat.

If this chapter seemed more disturbing than usual, I apologize. Most of them won't be like this. The reason for my desire to write a bit of blood was thanks to an anime called Deadman Wonderland. It's the scariest, most disturbing anime I have ever watched, but I friggin' love it.

This is TheDarknessFactor, signing off! Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and please review! I'm liking all of the thoughtful reviews I've been getting lately!


	7. Chapter 6: The Victim's Disposition

**Paradigm Shift**

**Chapter 6: The Victim's Disposition**

Marik sat in the back of the truck on his way to where Yugi's friend, Katsuya Jonouchi, was last seen. He frowned at the unconscious girl, Ginevra, eyes moving between her face and the haphazard bandaging of her arm. Bakura had been surprisingly compliant when it came to injuring his hostess. Marik wondered if he was a masochist or something.

The plan was easy enough; lure Yugi's friends into a false sense of security. He would then proceed to capture them and force them to answer to his command. The Pharaoh would have no choice but to fight his own friends.

"Bloody hell!"

Ginevra was conscious. Unconcerned with this, Marik stared at her impassively as she registered exactly where she was. She scowled at her arm, gaze darting around the truck. She focused on him, then his servants, and back to him. She blinked.

"You're a kid."

"Hardly," Marik replied dryly, casually tossing up the Millenium Rod and catching it. She froze, clearly recognizing the symbol embossed on it. The moment passed, however, and she crossed her arms.

"Still a kid," she insisted. "Come on, you can't be older than... what? Fifteen? Sixteen? Unless you're a psychotic ancient spirit that lives in that Item. Whose body are you taking advantage of?"

"None," he replied. The girl was more resilient than Bakura had made her out to be, he realized. Instead of panicking and crying (which was what he'd expected would happen to her), she was openly trying to spite him, clearly uncaring if he punished her because of it. Her body language was sending him a clear message: "I'm not about to take your crap."

He was mildly impressed.

"He's laughing," continued the girl. "I'm not sure if it's at me or at you."

She leaned back against the wall, closing her eyes. One hand reached up and began applying pressure to her bandages, which Marik realized were bleeding through. Without reopening them, she asked, "So you're Marik, then?"

"I thought that was already established, witch."

She chuckled. "Where I come from, that's not an insult."

"Oh yes," Marik said. "I think the correct term was 'blood traitor'."

"Watch your language. Did you stab me, or was it him?"

There was some bitterness in her tone, but most of it was displaced by sleepiness and exasperation.

"I did." For some reason, he'd lied. "If you try to run, I'll do the same to your other arm as well."

She rummaged around in her pockets, but only came up with her dueling deck. Marik had decided to let her keep that, but he'd kept her wand in his jeans pocket for the time being. He couldn't sense any kind of power emanating from the little stick; it was astonishing the damage that it was apparently capable of. Her eyes slid open, blearily staring down at whichever card was visible on the bottom of the deck. ******  
**

"Your society is currently at war." It wasn't a question.

She sighed. "Look, Marik. I get that you're powerful and all; I mean, how many kids can run an organization of crooks successfully? But like I told Bakura before, fighting against them isn't one of your games. Mess up and you die. It's as simple as that."

"I'm not interested in joining your conflict," he replied calmly. "Merely trying to understand what I am up against. Apparently, this so-called Dark Lord has taken an interest in my power. I doubt he fully understands exactly what the Items and the Shadow Realm are capable of, however. The game I play is hardly a children's game, Weasley. It hasn't been a children's game for a long time."

"Uh-huh," she said. She didn't sound all that convinced. "Just what are you trying to do, anyway?"

He didn't answer her, not particularly feeling the need to. He watched the blood drip through the bandage down her arm before ordering one of his servants to re-wrap the wound. Ginevra didn't protest.

Marik smirked. He hadn't expected her to.

* * *

It was all Ginny could do to keep from blacking out. She wasn't even faking it when Marik helped her out of the truck, near a large aquarium where there was some kind of commotion going on. He threw her arm around his shoulders, leading her slowly away and towards a familiar group of four: Jonouchi, Anzu, Yugi's grandpa, and Ryou.

Alarm bells rang in her mind, but they were muffled, dazed as she was from blood loss. Vaguely, she heard exclamations from the group and Marik explaining that she'd been hurt badly. Jonouchi went on a rant, saying that he was going to kill the Spirit when he got his hands on him, causing Anzu to frantically shush the blond. Not that it mattered much; Marik already knew.

She wanted to tell them. She wanted to scream at them, "This is Marik! This is the guy who's been trying to do the Pharaoh in! You can't trust him!"

Bakura murmured dark warnings in her head, informing her that trying anything of the kind would be folly. She gave a somewhat deranged laugh in return, wincing at how she sounded similar to Bellatrix Lestrange. He was right, though. She could barely think straight, much less actually say something out loud.

In the end, Mr. Mutou was placed out of danger by taking her to the hospital. Once again she was in one of the smelly muggle facilities, bedridden and barely aware of her surroundings. She spent hours in a kind of stasis, drifting on the brink of the subconscious. Fuzzy images passed through her head until everything cleared and she found herself in her soul room once again, the pain only a distant memory.

This time, there was a muggle television.

"What?" she muttered to herself. "I hardly watch this stuff."

Hesitantly, she pressed the power button- and gasped as she was sucked inside.

* * *

"I'm glad you're here Ginny," he said, still smiling at her. She tried to hug him, but her arms ended up going straight through him. Blinking in confusion, she took a step back. "We don't have much time."

"Why not?" she asked.

He sighed. "I need your help."

"Of course!" she replied immediately. "I'll help you. It's the least I can do, considering how much you've helped me this year."

They went down into the Chamber. She remembered being puzzled, then thoroughly creeped out as they made it further and further into the darkness. He took her by the hand, pulling her past the two rows of snake heads protruding from the ground. His touch was cold. It didn't register in her mind that minutes previously, she hadn't been able to hug him.

As they approached the monstrous statue at the end, he dropped her hand and looked at her. She shivered, wondering why he looked so frigid.

"Are you ready?" he asked quietly.

She had to be strong. "Yes."

He moved towards her again, but against her will she jumped out of the way. Words came out of her mouth that she couldn't remember speaking.

"Touch her and die."

The sentence was simply spoken, but the hostility was enough that Tom paused. His eyes narrowed in contemplation.

"We meet face to face, at last. I got your message. The answer is no. I need her."

It was the Voice. The Voice was interfering! Frantic, she tried to break free of his hold on her, but she felt (not for the first time) the necklace anchoring itself using her body.

"I'm afraid you can't have her," he retorted.

"And how can you stop me?" asked Tom, looking amused. "I am almost solid, thanks to the life energy she's given me. You are in the body of an eleven year old girl. Her weakness is your weakness, whoever you may be. You are helpless. There is nothing that can save her now."

A humorless laugh escaped her.

"But you're not quite solid yet, are you? You still need some of her strength. I have the ability to control her Ba. I can prevent her from giving any more of it to you. You are nothing but a fragment of the whole. The strength of your being is miniscule compared to any whole soul. You are dependent on her."

Ginny would have trembled, had she been in control. She couldn't understand what was going on. True, the Voice had tried to get rid of the diary, but he seemed to be almost defensive of her. The Voice that had been hurting her for over a year now.

_I don't understand..._

Tom's smile never wavered, never changed. He began walking towards her, removing a wand that she recognized as her own from his pocket. She realized that he had taken it when he was leading her down into the Chamber.

"I need that back," she heard herself say; this time, the words were hers as well as the Voice's.

"I can't give it to you," he said, not sounding the least bit regretful. She was afraid, and somehow she understood that the Voice was too. Tom pointed her own wand at her, muttering a spell quietly that caused her arms and legs to freeze. The back of her head cracked against the stone when she fell, almost causing her to black out.

Something ice old- his hand, she realized- gently touched her cheek. She couldn't shudder.

"Do you know what muggles do with toys, Ginny?" he asked her. The endearment sounded completely wrong from his mouth. "The little boys and girls play with them for a few days, maybe a week or so, and then they get bored of them. Most of the time they just fling the toys in the trash or leave them alone, forgotten. Sometimes, they break them."

He cocked his head to the side, gray eyes flashing red.

"But, no. I don't have time to break you. So how long will you rot down here, I wonder?"

The necklace flashed. Suddenly, something was shadowing her- something enormous enough that Tom stumbled back, an alarmed look crossing his face. She got a glimpse of white, as well as a snake. A terrible screech filled the air as Tom began to frantically shoot spells at the monstrosity above him.

The Voice rang out through the room. "Do you honestly believe that that stick can defeat my Ka? Diabound, use Helical Shock-"

The Voice stopped. She could still sense him, but it wasn't the same as before. For some reason, he was struggling to stay on the surface. This frightened her as he faded more and more. He seemed to be speaking again, but it was just a bunch of gibbering nonsense to her ears. Ginny would've frowned if she could have.

"I suppose he didn't account for the Imperius Curse," said Tom thoughtfully. The smile returned. "He shouldn't bother you any more, Ginny."

The wand was turned on her now. A look of derision crossed his face.

"It really would irk him, wouldn't it?" he murmured. _"Obliviate."_

Just before the darkness consumed her, everything about the Voice faded away to nothing.

* * *

And the next thing she knew, she was in her soul room. Ginny fell over, legs suddenly unable to support her as the breath whooshed out of her lungs. Like a dam breaking, the Memory Charm that had been placed on her so long ago vanished, leaving a flood of memories to fill the gap. The lapses, the irrational fear she sometimes had when Bakura was focused on her- it all made sense now. Images of her past experiences with him flashed across the screen: the times he made her bleed, the times when the pain was purely mental. Seeing Ron slumped across the chessboard...

It certainly explained her hatred of wizard's chess.

Still, it was a bit strange, receiving all of these memories. On one hand, she felt like a little girl (she realized that that was exactly what he used to call her, and shuddered) all over again, cowering on the floor of her soul room. The other her, who had grown up without these memories but had plenty of other less-than-ideal experiences, still saw Bakura with the same ambivalence as before. These two sides of her clashed rather than melded.

She knew without looking that he was behind her.

"You remember."

It wasn't a question. Driven by childhood fear into being honest, she nodded.

"Isn't that nice?" Bakura asked tauntingly, walking around her to crouch in front of her. It didn't escape her notice that he was taller. "We can relive all the good times we had together."

Trying to shake off the new yet familiar fear, she snorted. "Right. Because they were so wonderful." Her voice trembled, to her frustration.

Looking back, however, she realized that in a twisted, deformed way, he was right. Through the pain, she hadn't actually minded so much. He wasn't her first choice to keep her from being all alone, but he was somebody. Her ten year old mind had latched onto his presence in spite of herself. She was fifteen now, but suddenly it didn't seem all that different from back then.

Ginny's hand went to her abdomen, to the five indentations that she knew were there. She gripped her right hand with her left, rubbing her fingers over the large scar from when she'd been forced to impale her hand on the sword of one of her chess pieces when she'd tried to refuse to play the game.

Looking at him, she realized that he had scars too. They snaked over his arms.

He caught her looking and scowled. "My hikari has them as well, you know. I don't know where from."

They sat in silence for a few moments. Without warning, he grabbed her wrist.

Mistake.

Somehow her wand was in her hand. In a flash of unruly anger, she pointed it at him and shouted, _"Stupefy!"_

The force of the spell blasted him back, causing him to crash against the wall. It didn't even knock him out, but he did appear dazed and surprised. Ginny scrambled to her feet, glaring at him with a surprising amount of hatred.

"Don't touch me!" she screamed. "Don't ever come near me again! Do you think you have any right to after everything you've done to me? DO YOU? 'Cause you sure as hell don't! You put my brother and that boy into comas, and who knows how many other people too! You're trying to get rid of the person who agreed to take me in during my stay in Japan! I don't need any more of your abuse, and I definitely don't need you!"

Bakura stared at her blankly for a few moments, not moving from where he was propped up against the wall of her soul room. Seeing him suddenly made her feel sick; she turned away from him, refusing to even look at him. Something wet rolled down her cheek, and she wiped it away angrily. Her arm began to throb once more.

"Fascinating."

The word surprised her so much that she ended up glancing at him. He was studying her with a somewhat wry look on his face. "Maybe you don't need the abuse anymore, especially if you're capable of the amount of hatred you just directed toward me. But you're wrong. You do need me."

"As if," she spat. It was the wrong thing to say.

He moved faster than she could follow. One moment he was sprawled out on the ground, the next he had her wand arm pinned against the opposite wall, scarlet irises inches from her face. His other hand grasped her chin, forcing her to look at him. Ginny's breathing became haggard as the old fear swamped her previous anger.

"You do," he hissed at her. "You claim that you didn't want to see any of those people hurt, but that's not what your subconscious told me. Believe me when I say that I wouldn't have attacked them if you hadn't wanted me to."

"Liar," she breathed. His face went slack, but his nails dug into her wrist. He slammed it against the wall, the force enough to make her drop the wand.

"You wanted to win that chess match," he told her. "Even dear Ronald was good at something. Even he had a purpose in the family, even if it was only being the chess player. You? Compared to your brothers, you didn't seem to be skilled at much of anything. You wanted so badly just to beat him at his own game just once. I only helped you along.

"Aaron was a different case. He wasn't 'it' in the game, but he decided that since you were a girl, he would give you a scare just for fun. It turned out to be a bit more than just a scare; he made you jump badly enough that you hit your head on the trashcan you were hiding behind. You were angry and frightened. He got what was coming to him.

"All those other people? They were people you envied. They all had something you wanted, so I punished them for having what you didn't. That girl with the beautiful singing voice? I made her throat hurt whenever she tried to speak. The man who laughed at you for tripping on the curb in the street laughed until he died. The dog that bit you went mad from having so many fleas attacking him. In the end, he couldn't stop biting himself."

His eyes seemed to almost glow as he leaned even closer, breathing, "You got what you wanted, Ginevra. You always did."

Ginny wanted to shout that it wasn't true, that she hadn't wanted any of those people to suffer, but the words stuck in her throat. Lingering in the back of her mind was the constant question:

What if it was true?

She closed her eyes and let out a long, shuddering breath, refusing to admit he was right, yet unable to claim he was wrong.

"Am I interrupting something?"

Her eyes snapped open at about the same time that Bakura growled, turning his head. He released her, stepping away and towards the intruder, the annoyed look on his face accentuated by his menacing posture.

"Ever heard of knocking?" he asked.

"No," answered Marik shortly. Ginny couldn't tell if he was kidding or not. "There's been a change of plan."

"What?" asked Bakura sharply. "What do you mean a change of plan? I played my part, so I assume that Yugi and his group of friends have been neutralized. Therefore, the Rod belongs to me. You owe me for stabbing us."

Marik appeared to disregard this, something that angered Bakura and mildly annoyed Ginny. She was irritated at both of them, using her body as though it was nothing more than a tool. Thinking quickly, she scooped up her wand from where it had clattered to the floor, letting it rest by her side in an attempt to look nonchalant. Marik didn't notice, but she thought she saw the Spirit's eyes flicker over.

"Unless you failed, of course," Bakura added, sneering.

Marik's eyebrow twitched, but his blank mask soon reasserted itself. "...I experienced a minor setback. In the end, the result will be the same."

Ginny snorted aloud, ironically at the exact same time Bakura did. He turned around and smirked at her; she glared back, perturbed that she would act like him.

_I don't need him!_

"Au contraire," he said to her before swiveling his head around to glare at Marik again. The blond had one eyebrow raised at their exchange, but he didn't question it.

"I need you to enter the tournament and get into the finals."

"How the bloody hell am I supposed to do that?" snapped Bakura, crossing his arms. An idea came into her mind, and she crossed her arms too, mimicking his pose. Marik's eyes didn't move from Bakura's, but his mouth twitched into the tiniest of smirks.

"I don't know," he said, shrugging carelessly. "You figure it out. Unless you don't want the Millenium Rod?"

Bakura snarled at him wordlessly, shifting his stance slightly. Ginny, aware of how childish she was acting, copied him again. She thought she saw Marik take a deep breath as though trying hard not to laugh, and grinned at him. It occurred to her that she was sharing a silent joke with the enemy, but it wasn't as though she had any better company with her.

Without looking at her, Bakura said, "I highly suggest you stop that, Ginevra. You're going to make our guest lose his dignity. Fine, I'll enter the gods-damned tournament. But when I defeat the Pharaoh, you'd better pay up."

Marik rolled his eyes, while Ginny uncrossed her arms, sighing almost inaudibly. "Don't worry," the blond said. "You'll get your reward."

* * *

Author's note: remember how last time I said that I couldn't remember if I put 'author's note' in the previous chapter? I didn't. God damn it.

Anonymous Review Replies:

**Anonymous: **Yeah, I kinda skipped over the dockside duel... it still happened the way it did in canon, but Ginny wasn't there. She was too busy getting reacquainted with her childhood. And Bakura is trying not to let it bother. He still thinks that she's weak. I'm glad that me updating has you dancing!

**Anonymous: **I tried reading the manga once, but I got distracted and kept forgetting about it. Do I hear a Ryou/Ginny supporter in there? I'm sorry; it's not going to happen in the story, but I think I'm going to add it to my mental list of AU Paradigm Shift one-shots in the future. Pairings I've thought of so far are Ryou/Ginny and Yami Bakura/Ginny. Possible Harry/Bakura awkwardness...? Hehehe... Also, the reason why Ginny was able to stop the Shadow Game was simply this: she was able to fight Bakura and the result was a draw.

You guys are so awesome! I'm really glad you all like this story and that it's very thought-provoking. I hope you liked this chapter, and please review!


	8. Chapter 7: First Duel

**Paradigm Shift**

**Chapter 7: First Duel**

"I still don't know why I'm here."

_Quit playing dumb,_ ordered Bakura. He'd used the power of the Ring to knock out Yugi's grandpa before allowing her to take control and instructing her to go out and find a duelist to get a duel disk from. Ginny had balked at the order, but in the end the threat of being taken over and subdued caused her to cooperate. The device was strapped to her arm, having been forcibly wrestled from a frightened young duelist.

"You do realize that it's midnight, right?" she asked aloud. Normally she would have communicated with him silently, but the darkness was slightly unnerving. "No one's going to be out here."

_Oh, I doubt that._ He didn't elaborate on his words.

It turned out that he was right; she asked a group of kids if there were any duels still going on, and found that (after Bakura took over briefly and intimidated them) there were some duels going on in the cemetery. Ginny didn't particularly welcome this news; Voldemort had been reborn in a cemetery, after all.

Bakura, by contrast, seemed delighted.

"Glad to see you're in such a good mood," she muttered sourly, wincing as her arm gave a twinge. She'd pulled the IV out of her arm herself; that, coupled with the stab wound, meant that the limb that currently held her duel disk wasn't in good shape.

_Why wouldn't I be? We're out of that horrible chemical-scented facility and my dear little host finally remembers me. Fear has been restored to its rightful place._

"I'm not afraid of you."

_Lying is unbecoming of you, Ginevra._ He laughed.

"Just shut up," she muttered. "Why am I dueling anyway? Don't you want to guarantee your victory?"

He didn't respond. She sensed that he had lost interest in the conversation.

The entrance to the graveyard wasn't anything all that fancy. She didn't hear anyone when she walked in, so she slowed her pace slightly, surveying the gravestones that surrounded her. Unpleasant images of Inferi rising out of the ground flew through her mind, but she pushed them away and kept walking. Her hand unconsciously went to-

She frowned. Her wand had been in her soul room...

...but Marik took the real one.

A stream of curse words flew out of her mouth at the realization. She'd been so out of it when the blond used her as bait for Jonouchi and Anzu that she had completely forgotten that he'd taken her wand. To her surprise, Bakura seemed to be angered by this as well.

"Well, well, well. What's a girly like you doing in a scary place like this?"

The voice came from her right, followed by a tall kid who looked like he was wearing a mask. Not particularly intimidated, Ginny raised an eyebrow at him.

"What are you planning to do with that?" she sneered, suddenly feeling very much like Draco Malfoy. "Scare me into dropping my duel disk?"

That seemed to give him pause. A rustle on her other side made her turn her head to see another teen in a similar get-up appear. Neither of them said anything.

"Er... okay," she said. "I guess that was what you were trying to do. Sorry, but the only way you're getting it is if you can beat me in a duel."

Ginny thought that she sounded far more confident than she felt. Her only experience in dueling was against Yugi, and he'd beaten her every time. Still, she thought that her deck was decent enough, though it had a bit of a strange mix of cards. A loud laugh came from behind her, making her whirl around, bringing up her duel disk in a defensive position.

The sight surprised her; the third boy was even shorter than Yugi. His face was gaunt and his eyes were a bit sunken, giving him a skull-like appearance. He grinned at her, showing her his duel disk.

"If you want to duel me, then fine," he said. "But you won't be able to beat me- the terrifying Ghost!"

"You sure?" asked one of the goons, pulling off his mask and frowning. "We could just-"

"No, no," said Ghost, waving a hand. "I want to see if this girl stands a 'ghost' of a chance against me!"

Ginny choked at the lame pun and could hear Bakura's laughter resounding through her head. For once, it sounded incredulous.

She almost jumped when the holographic projectors shot out of the disk. "Stupid muggle technology," she murmured to herself, too quietly for her opponents to hear. She steeled herself for the duel as they each drew five cards, ready to begin.

"Hold up," she said. "What are we anteing here?"

Ghost shrugged. "One for one. I'm not going to waste all five of my locator cards on you."

Bakura's interest piqued at this. Ginny, not wanting to have to duel all night long, spoke quickly.

"Why? Scared that you'll lose to a girl?"

Ghost scowled at her. "Fine!" he snapped. "It's all or nothing. If you lose, we'll take your deck too."

Ginny only hesitated a bit before agreeing to his terms. She went first, since she had issued the challenge.

"I draw!" Looking at her hand, she frowned; it didn't seem to be too bad. For the moment, however, she would just play it safe.

"I summon a monster in face-down position," she announced, placing said card on her disk. It was unusual to see it appeared out of thin air on the ground in front of her. "Then I'll place one card face down and end my turn."

Ghost snorted. "This'll be over more quickly than I thought," he called. "I summon The Snake Hair in attack mode!"  
The abomination rose up out of the card, its hair hissing at her. Ginny was once again struck by the realism of the holograms. It had 1500 attack points, which were unfortunately higher than those of her monster's.

"Attack her facedown monster!"

The card was flipped up, revealing a pile of beetles.

"You activated my Swarm of Scarabs' special effect!" said Ginny, grinning a bit. "Whenever this monster is flipped up, it can destroy one monster that my opponent controls!"

The scarabs exploded, the shards ripping into the Snake Hair and forcing it to dissolve. Ghost scowled at her and ended his turn.

She drew another card. "I summon Ryu-Kishin Powered in attack mode!" she called. The monster that appeared had 1600 attack points, enough to do a significant amount of damage. "Attack his life points directly!"

The red monster bounded forward, slashing at Ghost's life points and making them drop to 2400. "Turn end."  
Ghost grinned when he drew his next card, causing her stomach to flip over and reminding her that she was still a rookie duelist. "I summon Dragon Zombie, complete with 1600 attack points!"

Ginny raised an eyebrow. "So? If you attack, both of our monsters will be destroyed."

"Not done yet," he said, smirking. "Next I pay 800 life points to activate my magic card, Premature Burial, bringing back my Snake Hair. Then, I can activate Polymerization to fuse together my two monsters to form the Great Mammoth of Goldfine!"

Ginny swallowed at the sight of the 2200 attack point skeleton. It had more than enough to take care of her Ryu-Kishin Powered. On the other hand, his life points were only at 1600, while she still had all of hers.

"You can't attack with it right now," she reminded him.

"I know that," he said breezily. "I set one card and end my turn."

She drew, fingers slipping on the card slightly thanks to her sweating hands.

"Hold it!" said Ghost. "I activate my Skull Invitation card. Now every time a monster is sent to the graveyard, 300 life points are deducted from the monster's owner."

"Fine," Ginny muttered. "I play another monster in face down defense mode. Then I'll switch my Ryu-Kishin Powered to defense mode as well. That's it for now."

"Ha!" crowed Ghost. "Great Mammoth, attack her Ryu-Kishin Powered!"

Ginny cringed as her monster was destroyed. Her life points weren't completely safe either, due to Ghost's trap; they went from 4000 to 3700. Ghost played another card face down before he ended his turn.

"Right," she said as she drew. "First, I'll flip summon my Swarm of Locusts, which allows me to destroy one trap or spell card you control. Say goodbye to your Skull Invitation!"

The card disintegrated; Ghost frowned, but said nothing.

"Now, I can use its special ability to re-set it back into face down position!"

"What?" Ghost exploded. "You can't-"

"Yes, I can," said Ginny, exasperated. "The card description said so. Do you need me to read it out loud?"

Ghost said nothing, but he was clearly gritting his teeth.

"Next, I summon my Mystic Horseman- though not for long, because I sacrifice him in order to bring forth my Luster Dragon 2!"

The green dragon roared as it made its appearance, and Ginny grinned; she was going to be able to take care of his fusion monster easily enough.

"Attack his Great Mammoth!"

"Activate Mirror Wall!" barked Ghost, much to her surprise. Yugi had once told her of that particular card when recounting his Duelist Kingdom match against Mai. Her monster dropped down to 1200 attack points, still sailing forward towards the Mammoth. She reacted quickly.

"Activate trap! Two-Pronged Attack. If I destroy two of my own monsters, then I can destroy one of yours."

Ghost let out a yell of rage as his Mammoth vanished from the field, along with both her dragon and Swarm of Locusts. She glanced down at her hand, biting her lip before setting another face down card. It was his turn; sure, she'd gotten his most powerful monster off the field, but...

Glaring at her angrily, he was forced to destroy Mirror Wall, since he couldn't pay the toll required. He then summoned Gravekeeper's Curse in defense mode, costing her 500 more life points automatically. The counter clicked down to 3200.

He ended his turn.

Ginny crossed her fingers for a moment, then drew her Mad Sword Beast. She stared blankly at it, but soon a giddy feeling overcame her.

"I summon my Mad Sword Beast in attack mode!" she announced, practically slamming the card down in excitement. Its attack stood at 1400, but that was about to change.

"Ha! Even with its special effect, it won't beat me," said Ghost smugly.

"Is that so?" asked Ginny. She placed a card into the spell and trap zone. "I activate my Poison Fangs magic card. Now every time a Beast-type monster inflicts damage to your life points, five hundred extra points are inflicted!"

"That still won't be enough!" spat Ghost.

"Not without this, no," she agreed, pressing a button to activate her face down card. "Rush Recklessly! This gives my monster a 700 point boost."

What little color was in Ghost's face drained away as he realized exactly what he was facing. Her monster now had 2100 attack points- 1300 more than the defense points of his Gravekeeper's Curse. That, plus 500 points of damage thanks to her card...

"This duel's over," she said. "Attack!"

Her beast obeyed, cutting down Ghost's monster and bringing his life points to zilch. She couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment at having been victorious in her first serious duel. Striding over to the short kid, she held out a hand expectantly. "Cough up the locator cards already. I don't have all day."

He sneered at her; for a moment, she thought he was going to refuse, but something in her gaze must have convinced him to hand them over.

"I think that the rules also say that you have to give me your rarest card," she said, none too gently. She was pretty sure that any rare cards he had were probably stolen, anyway. He gave it to her without too much protest, confirming her suspicion. Ginny barely glanced at the card before adding it to her deck and leaving the cemetery.

"Have fun disturbing the ghosts," she called behind her. Oh, if only Peeves were there...

Her arm gave a painful jolt, reminding her that it was still late, she still had to get to the Battle City finals, and she still had an injury. Wincing a bit, she placed the six cards together, just barely able to make out the tiny symbols that would lead her to the location. A red light indicated where they would be held.

_You could have won more quickly,_ Bakura said suddenly. _If you had summoned Earl of Demise and used Spiritualistic Medium, you could have destroyed his mammoth. You should have destroyed his face down instead of Skull Invitation._

"Look," Ginny ground out, annoyed. "I won, okay? Let's just get to the finals, already."

* * *

Yugi paused to follow Namu's stare. Another person was arriving at the arena. He heard Anzu gasp aloud when they came into full view. Honda and Jonouchi both swore, and he was certain that his heart stopped beating for a moment.

Ginny blinked at them all and offered a sheepish smile and a wave. "Hi."

Anzu was the one to break out of her shock first. "Ginny!" she shouted, hurrying over. "Shouldn't you be in the hospital? You were barely able to stand earlier today!"

"I'm fine, Anzu," insisted the redhead.

Before he knew it, Yugi was running over alongside Jou and Honda. "How did you even get a duel disk?" he burst out with. Suspicion was already beginning to form in the back of his mind; was this really Ginny that they were talking to?

She shrugged. "Some kid had already lost his locator cards and told me I could take it if I wanted, since he didn't need it anymore. After that, I dueled a freak named Ghost in a cemetery and won all of his locator cards. So... here I am."

Jonouchi's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. "You got all six cards in, like, the last hour?"

"Yeah."

Honda frowned and crossed his arms. "I'm not buying this, Ginny. Your arm's obviously still hurt; you should really get back to the hospital."

Her face fell, letting some of the exhaustion she clearly felt show through. To Yugi's surprise, it was sincere. "Please don't ask me to do that, Honda."

Everyone looked taken aback by the words, but parted to allow her to turn in her locator cards. She received a pass like everyone else. Yugi noticed Kaiba frowning at her, probably because she was clearly foreign and had never been prominent on the dueling circuit before. He watched for any signs that she might collapse, but she seemed to be holding up fine, talking to Anzu and thanking Namu for helping her earlier.

A taller figure walked into the stadium, causing exclamations on all sides. Yugi's eyes flew to the Millenium Rod that he held, while Jonouchi started yelling at him.

"I remember him! He was at that Ghouls hideout. He's the one who brainwashed me and Anzu."

The man ignored all of this, focusing only on Isono as he introduced himself. "I am Marik Ishtar."

This announcement only brought more shouting, mainly from Jonouchi who was trying to pounce on him. Ginny looked a bit bored by the proceedings.

"Huh. Tall and ominous. Just how I always imagined the enemy to be."

This struck Yugi as an odd thing for her to say, and he noticed that she was staring at him as she said it. He blinked, wondering if she was trying to send him a message.

_A warning about Marik?_ Yami suggested. _Maybe she's trying to tell us that he and the Spirit of the Ring are involved in some way._

_Maybe,_ agreed Yugi, frowning.

"So are we really going to be dueling here?" asked Mai, crossing her arms and frowning. "It's not exactly a very glamorous spot, seeing as how it's not even built yet."

Kaiba stepped forward at this. "As you can see, the finalists have gathered in this place thanks to the instructions on your locator cards. However, this is not the true location of the Battle City finals."

"Say what?" said Jonouchi.

A shadow suddenly fell on them all, causing several heads to snap upwards in surprise. Yugi's jaw dropped; he thought he heard Ginny mutter something in English. Everyone else seemed to be struck speechless.

Descending on them was an enormous blimp, emblazoned with the KaibaCorp logo. He shielded his face from the wind that it threw up with its landing, stairs unfolding at the bottom to let passengers on.

"That's right!" Mokuba called over the noise. "The finals are going to be held in the sky. The winds and altitude will make each duel a test of your strength and stamina."

"I never thought I'd say this, but that's pretty amazing," admitted Honda.

"Amazing?" asked Ginny weakly. "We're going up in the air... in that- that thing-"

"I wouldn't worry too much," Mokuba assured her. "The blimp is very stable, owing to its size and all. You should be fine, and if not we've got some barf bags on board. We've also got a special kind of wristband that'll apply pressure to a point on your wrist. It helps a lot with things like altitude and motion sickness."

"Each contestant will have their own room," explained Isono in a clipped tone. "In an hour, all duelists will meet in the lottery room to find out the two participants in the first match of the finals. Please do not be late."

They all filed onto the Battle Ship, Yugi behind Ginny and Jonouchi. There was a slight commotion about letting the others on, but Mokuba forced Isono to go along with it.

Within a few minutes, the blimp was heading skyward, for what he knew would be the sight of another battle.

_Are you ready, Yugi?_ asked the Pharaoh.

_As ready as I'll ever be._

* * *

Ginny was pacing agitatedly around her room when the knock came. Pressing a hand to her forehead and heading over to the door, she opened it to reveal Ryou.

"Hello," he said quietly, looking a bit nervous. "Um... can I-?"

In answer, she stepped back to allow him inside. The door slid shut almost silently, making her stare at it for another few seconds. Muggle technology could be so befuddling sometimes, but in this case she had to once again wonder how in seven hells they did it without using magic.

"I was wondering if I could room with you," he stammered out when she turned to look at him. "Uh, that is... Anzu and the others are rooming with Jonouchi, and Yugi... well..."

Ginny thought she understood. "He's the kind of guy that you just don't bother in times like these," she finished for him, smiling wearily. A small part of her grumbled that she was a duelist as well- they shouldn't have been bothering her- but she reminded herself that Jonouchi was stuck with more people than she was, and Ryou was a quiet person in general. She was lucky, really.

He nodded in agreement. "I hope you're okay with this- rooming with a guy, I mean," he added hastily when she looked at him in puzzlement. "Oh, and the whole tournament." His expression turned serious so quickly that she almost missed the change. "I know he made you do it, Ginny. I think that Yugi does too, and maybe Honda."

Ginny ignored that for now. "I don't mind sharing with a guy," she said nonchalantly. "I live with six brothers. I'm used to it."

"Oh." They sank into an awkward silence; Ginny walked over to one of the armchairs next to the portholes and sat, taking out her deck and riffling through it again. It had become something of a habit now; looking at each card and memorizing its effects calmed her somewhat. She wasn't sure why.

Mokuba had given her one of the motion sickness bracelets, which thankfully worked fine. He was right; the blimp was moving more steadily than the metal tube she'd traveled in a few weeks prior. The city twinkled at her below, all the lights making for a beautiful picture that she couldn't really appreciate from the portholes.

Ryou sat across from her. It occurred to her that she couldn't really reference him as Bakura anymore; that particular name belonged to someone entirely different.

"So what are they like?" he asked, apparently respecting her silent wish not to discuss the Spirit. "Your family, I mean."

Ginny grinned, glad to be on a topic that she could talk about freely. She told Ryou as much as she possibly could without revealing the fact that she was from a pureblood wizard family. She recounted how close she and Ron were when the two of them grew up, always playing chess together or some other game because their older brothers didn't always have time for them. She told him about the devilish jokesters that Fred and George were. She grimaced a bit when she came to Percy.

"Why?" asked Ryou, frowning. "What happened to Percy?"

"He had a falling out with the family," she explained, the memory still leaving a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. "He and dad had a huge disagreement about his career, and it ended with Percy walking out on us. You have to understand..." she paused, searching for the right words. "Percy's been obsessed with perfection for I don't know how long. He was the exemplar student, the one with model behavior. So, he got a job in the government and was really proud of it."

Ryou looked impressed. "Isn't that good, then?"

Ginny inwardly groaned; this was dangerous territory. "The thing about the government is... well, the guy that Percy works under is corrupt. Well not corrupt, exactly; he refuses to confront the real problems we have, but Percy worked really hard for that job. Dad was worried about him, but I think it translated as anger. Percy said he was jealous because he was getting a higher income than Dad was."

At the shocked look Ryou gave her, she sighed. "My family's poor, Ryou. Our house is probably the most ramshackle thing you'll ever see. I was only able to come here because my school is funding the entire thing. The headmaster was interested in seeing how well I'd use my Japanese."

"I say you've excelled so far."

"Thanks." She smiled, but it felt more like stretching the corners of her mouth than anything else. "Then there's Charlie. He works with wildlife in Romania. He was really great at sports in school, but never really went anywhere with that. And the eldest is Bill. He's..."

The words suddenly stuck in her throat as she realized just what she was about to tell Ryou. Swallowing, she said, "He studies Egypt."

Understanding passed on Ryou's face. "Wait, so he...?"

"Gave me the Millenium Ring, yes," she completed. Her hand unconsciously went to where it was hidden under her jacket. When had Anzu bought the jacket for her? It felt like years ago. "Please don't ask me what it was like, then," she pleaded, clasping her hands together in a tight grip. "I don't want to talk about... what he did. I didn't even remember it until recently."

Ryou's mouth had been open, probably to ask her exactly that, but he quickly closed it again. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, reaching over and placing a hand on top of hers. "I'm sorry that you've had to go through all of this. I... I don't know what else to say."

Ginny looked at him. He sat there, one of the kindest people she'd ever met aside from the people she knew back home. He was honest and sincere, two things that weren't always easy to find. Judging by the way his brown eyes stared at her intensively, she knew that he somehow understood, even if he didn't know the half of it.

Still, with one hand on hers, he continued. "My mother and sister died in a car crash when I was ten."

At first, what he'd said didn't register, but then the truth came crashing down on Ginny. Her mouth opened and closed in horror as she stared at him, trying to convey some way to show that what she'd been through wasn't nearly as...

"It's okay," Ryou said, though it clearly wasn't. "I still write letters to Amane, sometimes. I think she gets them, and I think she understands. Plus I have Yugi and all of the others. They've all been really supportive of me since I moved here. I'm... I guess happy doesn't sound right, but at least I'm content."

For a split second, Ginny was tempted to tell him. Not that she was a witch, or about the wizarding world in general. No, she was tempted to tell him something that seemed completely unrelated to the subject.

She wanted to tell him about Harry. She wanted to tell him that he wasn't alone in the world.

But seeing him now, she realized that he already knew that. And besides, that wasn't her story to tell.

"You're one of the strongest people I've ever met," she said firmly.

Ryou suddenly realized that their hands were still touching, and she could've sworn that his roots turned red from blushing. "I- uh... that's- I mean, where did you get that ridiculous idea from? Really, did the Blue-Eyes White Dragon tell you that or something?"

Ginny stared at him blankly. "The what?"

He grinned in embarrassment. "Right. You haven't seen Kaiba duel yet. Nevermind."

The redhead thought for a moment, then asked, "You mean the card that he apparently can't live without? Yugi told me a bit about it."

"That's the one."

She nodded absently, her mind already wandering away and anticipating the coming duel. Who would she- or rather, Bakura, since he had stated that he would be handling the duels from here on out- end up facing? She hoped it wouldn't be Yugi or Jonouchi. Kaiba was apparently something of an acquaintance of theirs, so she didn't particularly like the idea of facing him either. Maybe the eighth duelist, who showed up at the last minute?

She wouldn't mind facing Marik's very tall follower, but it would be just the epitome of irony if her opponent turned out to be Marik himself. Ginny almost sniggered at the thought.

She found herself wishing that she'd brought something to do with her on the blimp; the wait was killing her. Finally, after what seemed like days, the call came over the intercom for all of the duelists to gather. Ryou followed her out the door, the noticeably worried look back on his face once more as the two of them made their way to the lottery room.

Almost everyone else had already shown up. Kaiba and his younger brother were standing off to the side. The Marik imposter was standing alone, arms folded across his chest. Everyone else was gathered together, chatting with one another and looking mostly at ease. Ginny felt her eyebrows go up at the sight of Marik fitting in just fine with everyone else. The only person who sent him suspicious looks from time to time was, surprisingly, Jonouchi.

Some of the talking died away as she approached. Marik struck up a conversation with Ryou, the two of them getting along fairly well. Yugi offered her a small smile, clearly trying to convey that he didn't see her as an enemy.

"How are you doing?" asked Anzu anxiously.

In truth, Ginny thought that her wound might have been infected. She was starting to feel a bit ill; her head ached and she sometimes found herself shivering. However, Bakura answered for her, taking control of her voice momentarily.

"I'm fine, thanks," he said, before slipping back into the recesses of their shared mind. Ginny scowled inwardly at him and suppressed another shiver before forcing the smile to stay on her face and opting out of lying for once. "I'm kind of nervous about who I'm going to face."

"I know what you mean," agreed Yugi.

Isono interrupted them, informing them that they would all be assigned numbers. Yugi had three, Ginny had six; the lottery balls with each number on them were swirled around in the machine, yet another process that almost caused Ginny's jaw to drop. How were the spheres able to fly around like that?

The first number to fall out was three.

"Aw yeah! Go get 'em, Yugi!" yelled Jonouchi, punching his fist in the air. Kaiba snorted but said nothing.

_Please don't let it be..._

"The second number is six," called Isono. "Yugi Mutou's opponent will be Ginevra Weasley."

Damn.

She and Yugi's eyes met for only a brief moment. She tried to apologize to him silently, hoping he understood.

Then the blackness came.

* * *

What surprised Bakura as he pushed the girl's mind aside was the realization that he hadn't forced control like this in a while. He'd taken to actually leaving her conscious while he controlled her body, something that he could no longer allow. Even if she was his hostess, she didn't need to know of the majority of his actions.

He was careful not to change Ginevra's expression, as she had been looking straight at his opponent when he took over. However, something must have been different, because Yugi's eyes narrowed a moment later. Bakura looked away, following the others up to the duel arena atop the blimp. Ryou walked alongside him, staying silent.

Inwardly, Bakura grinned. His first duel with the Pharaoh was coming up.

This would be entertaining.

* * *

Author's note: Ginny's first duel! I know it wasn't obvious this time, but Ginny's deck is made up of two types of monsters: occult (Bakura's preference) and beast-type (her own). This will become clearer when her Ka is revealed. Sadly, that won't be for a while yet. This chapter was LOOOOOOOOOOONG! I'm living up to my expectations.

Of all the Olympics things I could be watching right now, it's horsebackriding. Archery was very exciting, though... surprisingly. I'm just looking forward to Gymnastics. Did anyone else see the queen? Her double went skydiving with- I think it was Daniel Craig...

Anyway: for you Ryou fans, he was back in this chapter! Honestly, that was one of my favorite things to write. It made me feel warm fuzzies.

Thank you all for reading this story! Please review!


	9. Chapter 8: The Other Half

**Paradigm Shift**

**Chapter 8: The Other Half**

"Why don't you tell us who you really are?" barked the Pharaoh.

Ryou cringed slightly when 'Ginny' gave a feral smile in reply. He had been able to tell when the Spirit took over almost immediately; something in her normally amiable brown eyes had sharpened, giving 'her' an edgy look. Now, across from Yugi on the dueling platform, she somehow managed to look positively menacing.

The Spirit had unzipped her jacket to reveal the Ring. It wasn't glowing like it had been when Ryou had first encountered the Spirit, but just the sight of it was enough to make him nervous. He thought that he could see blood beginning to press through the bandages on her arm, but it was hard to tell in the darkness.

"Don't you know?" the Spirit asked mockingly. "I'm Ginevra Weasley."

Yami's eyes narrowed, but his only response was to activate his duel disk. Across the playing field, the Spirit followed suit.

"If you must know," the Spirit said casually as he drew five cards. "I am called Bakura."

Ryou couldn't stop himself. "What?" he shouted.

The Spirit turned his attention to him and sneered. "Don't look so concerned, hikari. I said my name was Bakura, not Ryou Bakura. Still, I suppose I can see why it would be confusing."

Ryou almost took a step back at the pure malice that radiated from Bakura, but he forced himself to stay still. The duel began in earnest, with the Spirit making several not-so-subtle threats towards Yami. The Pharaoh stayed calm, even in the face of the field spell Dark Sanctuary. He had to admit it was a bit difficult to think rationally when there were a bunch of eyes staring down at you.

As the ghost of the sanctuary attacked Yami once again, a strange look passed over Bakura's face. Then suddenly it wasn't Bakura standing there, but-

"Use it!" she was shouting. Her face was pale and drawn, and she was trembling, but still she shouted: "Use the-"

Ginny was abruptly cut off as Bakura overpowered her once again, scowling at his opponent.

Yami had seen it as well. "Fight him, Ginny!" he called.

The Spirit looked annoyed, but he continued dueling as though nothing had happened. Ryou couldn't stop the sense of foreboding in him; he just knew that something bad was going to occur. A chill came over him as Bakura was forced to visibly pause in order to fight off Ginny several more times.

At one point, Ginny managed to get a grip for longer than before.

"The card!" she cried weakly. "You have it. I know you do. You just need to draw it, and you win!"

Ryou thought he heard a sharp intake of breath from Kaiba at these words. He glanced at the CEO, but Kaiba didn't say anything. Then he realized.

Ginny was telling Yami to summon his Egyptian God card.

Apparently Bakura knew it too, because he just laughed at the Pharaoh. "What good will that do you?" he sneered. "I'll just use Dark Sanctuary's effect again."

Yami ignored him, closing his eyes, lips moving soundlessly in a prayer for what he needed. It became clear a moment later that he had drawn Osiris; his eyes lit up in triumph and his posture straightened. The Pharaoh wasted no time in sacrificing Gamma, Dark Magician Girl, and Big Shield Gardna in order to call forth the god.

Everyone's jaw dropped simultaneously as the monstrous red serpent appeared, coiling around the blimp as though it intended to crush it. It roared at Bakura, its size enough to disperse half of Dark Sanctuary.

"It doesn't matter," said Bakura after a moment of stunned silence. "Spirit of Dark Sanctuary, possess Osiris the Heaven Dragon!"

The corner of Yami's mouth became upturned in a smirk. "Don't you know, Bakura? Traps and spells don't work on god cards."

Ryou couldn't help but flinch slightly when the Pharaoh addressed the Spirit as Bakura.

"What?"

Movement on his right caught Ryou's eye- he turned his head to see Marik step forward, raising the Millenium Rod.

"What d'you want, you creep?" snapped Jonouchi.

"Be wary of attacking, Pharaoh," said Marik coldly. "I am controlling the Spirit of the Ring with the Rod. Now, I will use its power to release his hostess, Ginevra Weasley."

At that moment, Bakura collapsed to his knees. No, Ryou realized, looking again- it wasn't Bakura. Not anymore.

Ginny looked up straight at the Pharaoh. Hoarsely, she whispered, "Attack."

* * *

Ginny's head felt strangely fuzzy.

A dull throb resounded throughout her bones. It was all she could do to keep herself from blacking out as she tried to keep Yami in focus. Her arm, she knew, was oozing a mixture of pus and blood. She didn't look at it, for fear that it would only serve to make her sick. Dimly, she registered shouts of concern from her friends.

_You've pushed my body too far,_ she told Bakura. The injury, coupled with no sleep...

Still, Yugi and Yami had to win. If anyone stood a real chance of defeating Marik and his Egyptian God, it was those two.

"You have to attack," she told them, more strongly this time. "Just do it!"

It wasn't working. Yami was conflicted, she could see. He knew that an attack from Osiris would mean she'd be even more hurt- quite possibly dead. In her feverish state, she found that she didn't mind that much. Within the span of a few weeks, all of these people had come to mean a lot to her. If that was what it took to protect them, she wasn't going to hesitate.

"They're using me as a hostage!" she managed to somehow yell. Could she stand up? Yes... she could. First place weight on right foot-

"Yugi, if you don't attack, you forfeit the duel!" That was Kaiba.

"You can't just make her sit back and take it!" shouted Jonouchi in reply. He was trying to climb up onto the duel platform, she realized. She tried to tell him not to be an idiot and to stay away, but it appeared that Honda and- she didn't know the other guy's name- had it covered.

_You fool! This is a bad idea!_

_Relax. There's no way that Yugi would let the Pharaoh attack one of his little friends._

Bakura and... Marik. This had to have been Marik's idea. This struck her as something that the Spirit would try to avoid.

"Attack me!" she shouted, her voice rasping.

"I'd do what she says if I were you, Yugi. You have a god card, now use it!"

"Kaiba, you really think he's gonna attack her? Look at her! She can barely stand up."

"Will you attack your friend and make her suffer, Pharaoh?"

_Marik..._

_The Pharaoh's not going to. Look, he's almost ready to forfeit._

Ginny had had enough.

"Listen!" she practically shrieked. To her surprise, all conversation ceased. The only sound came from the wind whistling in her ears and her own labored breathing as she managed to get her other foot to support her.

"If you don't attack me, I will not forgive you," she said firmly. It hurt her to say it, but how else could she convince him? "Everyone here- Anzu, Jonouchi, Ryou, Honda- they're all counting on you. Not me. Not while I have him inside my mind. The wound's infected, Yami. The attack will... it's not going to be pretty. I only have minutes before I go down anyway." She laughed weakly. "Might as well get it over with."

"But..."

"I know Yugi doesn't want you to," she said. "He thinks he's responsible for my well-being while I'm here. He isn't. None of what's happened to me is his fault, nor will it ever be. It isn't yours, either. I need to..." she swallowed painfully. "This is my decision. Not yours. Now call your attack!"

She held the amethyst gaze of the Pharaoh for a few more moments before he gave a slight nod. She stayed standing while Osiris loomed over her, charging up for the attack.

"Osiris, now! Thunderforce attack!"

The dragon's giant maw gaped open, a ball of lightning being generated there. Ginny didn't allow herself to fall. She didn't let herself close her eyes. She could hear Marik shouting in disbelief in her mind. Her arm twinged painfully, but she barely noticed. In that brief moment, she felt Bakura's mind envelop hers.

Then every nerve in her body seemed to explode as the attack collided with her, and she sank into darkness.

* * *

Pain.

_Something's eating at me-_

_Why is this happening?_

_She couldn't die. Not allowed-_

_This must end._

_Oh gods, it hurts-_

_It is useless. Let her soul disappear._

_Had worse-_

_It does not matter. Irrelevant._

_This will damage us... too much-_

_Fool._

_Fool._

_Fool..._

* * *

Ginny wondered if it was possible for her to change the interior of her soul room in some way; it was beginning to bore her.

She knew that, even with the protection that her sanctuary offered her, she should have been feeling some kind of muted pain in her body, but there was nothing. She shivered slightly at the complete and utter silence in the room; was she dead? Had the attack from Osiris been enough to finish her off in her weakened state?

Ginny drew her knees to her chest and hugged them, staring at nothing while she waited for something- anything- to happen. It was almost maddening, doing nothing in her soul room. Her gaze traveled to the plain brown door that was set into one of the walls. The door that Bakura always came through.

When she was younger, they had only convened in her soul room once. She could remember thinking that he was the most terrifying monster she'd ever laid eyes on. That was one memory that she'd avoided dwelling on from the moment she'd recalled her earlier time with Bakura. She could still see the flash of the blade...

He'd let her cut him, for once. Yet for some reason, she always felt the pain.

Just what was behind that door?

The question crossed her mind unexpectedly, but Ginny found herself getting to her feet and heading over to it anyway. There was only a moment's hesitation before she grasped the handle and turned it, the door opening without a sound.

She found herself in a darkened corridor, which stretched for an indeterminable length on both sides. Across from her was another door, this one embossed with the Eye of Horus. Instinctively, Ginny knew that this was Bakura's soul room. For some reason, it surprised her that he even had one. He only ever appeared in her own.

Her fingers brushed against the door. Nothing happened.

Ginny pushed it open.

The sight that greeted her was inky blackness. She could feel the shadows crawling over her skin like snakes, cold and slippery. She could sense the phantom pain, now- an agony that she herself wasn't actually feeling, strangely enough. It was coming from someone else.

Something cold suddenly gripped her throat.

Ginny choked, her air supply suddenly cut off. Her eyes traveled downward to see a tendril of blackness tightening inexorably around her neck. She panicked, feeling that this thing was going to kill her. Her almost nerveless fingers gripped her wand-

_Lumos!_ she thought.

The jet of light her wand emitted was weak, but it was enough to get her out of the shadow's grip. Ginny slid to her knees, gasping for air and making sure to sustain the light from her wand. She couldn't see anything through the blackness, but the more palpable shadows seemed to retreat from her now that she had her wand lit.

"Bakura?" she called out, sending a small pulse through their connection. A wave of pain answered her.

_That's the first time I've actually called him by name,_ she realized. Pushing further into the 'room', she used the light to sweep aside the shadows as best as she could. They seemed to almost scramble out of the way, like spiders fleeing from the foot that will crush them. This, of course, only served to remind Ginny of Harry and Ron's encounter with the acromantulas in her first year.

As she walked into the unending blackness, she could sense the connection with Bakura fading. It was more disconcerting to her than she liked; his absence should have been a blessing, but...

"You shouldn't have come."

Ginny whipped around, thinking that the voice came from behind her, but her wand light revealed no one. The voice was definitely that of Bakura- there was no mistaking the rough tone and the contemptuous air- but she turned around in a full circle and found nothing. Shrugging, she decided to keep walking.

"I'm warning you."

"Where are you?" she snapped, annoyed.

"Everywhere."

Ginny's next question died on her lips as she realized what he meant. Her grip on her wand tightened until she was sure it would break.

"I'd like to be able to see you," she managed to stammer out.

For a few moments, he didn't answer. A cold feeling seeped into her as she stood there, resisting the urge to rub her arms so that she could keep the light as a defensive mechanism. Without warning, the shadows began to writhe once more, coalescing into the form of Bakura in front of her. Ginny noticed that her wand was trembling and tried to steady her hand.

"What's going on?" she demanded. "Who's in pain right now?"

"Me," he said calmly, smiling. Ginny took a step back; whereas before his smiles had been feral and dangerous, this one looked positively deranged. His irises seemed to almost glow as he stared at her. She took another step back, suddenly convinced that entering his soul room had been a very bad idea.

"I took on the pain. If I hadn't, you would be dead."

Ginny had suspected that, but the fact that he'd bothered to save her still surprised her. "You took over at the last second?"

"Yes." His breath escaped him in a low hiss. "It hurts, Ginevra. It hurts."

"I'm sorry," she replied, not knowing what else to say. She shouldn't have been; he put her through plenty of agony in the past, but she was. It was unexpected, to say the least. She would have guessed that he only did it to prevent his own death, but for some reason she still pitied him. While he could be frightening at times, he always seemed to have a kind of level-headedness in dire situations. Now it was like he was losing his mind thanks to her injuries.

She turned to leave, realizing that there wasn't really much else she could do in the meantime.

"Where are you going?"

"Back to my soul room," she answered. "Where else can I go?"

"I think you should stay here," he said, his lopsided grin growing.

"That's not a good idea..." she trailed off, shining the light of her wand behind her to prevent another of the shadows from attacking her. "You just said I shouldn't be here."

Suddenly he was in front of her- right in front of her. Alarmed, she tried to step back, but he grabbed her shoulders to prevent her from doing so. Ginny reacted instantaneously, shoving her wand in his abdomen and saying, _"Impedimenta!"_

Nothing happened.

His eyes glinted madly as he stepped back. "We're in my soul room now, Ginevra. I control what happens here."

Without warning, the light went out.

Ginny froze, listening hard for any sounds. Slowly, she began to back away, trying not to panic at her complete blindness. She had no idea where the door was or how to get back to safety, and the shadows would be able to attack her at any moment.

_Unless... you need light to have shadows. Maybe that means that now, they can't touch me._

It wasn't a very comforting thought- that her only defense against them was total darkness.

"Bakura," she called out warningly. "I just want to leave. I'm not going to try and attack you again or anything, alright?"

There was no reply.

Ginny, not taking any chances, turned around and fled. There was no sign of the way out anywhere, but adrenaline made it impossible for her to stand still. Her breathing soon became labored, and her muscles started to protest. When it became clear that she wasn't getting anywhere, she slowed down slightly.

Inches away from her ear came a whispered, "Hello."

Ginny screamed, jumping away from the source of the sound only to collide with something else. Cold arms wrapped around her; she struggled, trying to aim a kick to his shins, but the grip was almost iron. His breath was tickling her neck, and she stilled, trying to calm her racing heart. Goosebumps rose on her arms.

"I think we should share," he breathed.

Before she could ask what he meant, her arm seemed to explode. Crying out, she tried to cringe away from him, her mind numbed by the waves of agony that rippled through her body. Her face felt strangely hot, and she bit her lip, trying to stop her head from pounding. Distantly, she thought she could hear multiple voices speaking, all of them familiar and yet strange at the same time.

Ginny could do nothing. All she could do was stand there, immobilized, with Bakura's arms wrapped around her.

_We're sharing pain._

The voice that said those words was both hers and his.

* * *

He was just barely able to keep her fever down.

Ryou returned to the room with the wet cloth, laying it on Ginny's forehead and sighing when he realized that her temperature still refused to relent. The most he could do was keep the sweat off her brow and keep the rest of her body warm. She was tense, he knew; her muscles were locked up as though she was incapable of relaxing. It frustrated him how helpless he was to aid her.

"Poor little girl," came the mocking voice at the door.

Ryou's fists clenched in anger as he swiveled around to face Marik, suppressing shivers of disgust at the unhinged look on blond's face. The boy smirked, his curiously blank lavender eyes boring through Ryou.

"She sacrificed herself for nothing, after all," he sneered. "Both her and the spirit are suffering right now. I wonder how long it will be before she dies?"

"She isn't going to die!" snapped Ryou, standing up quickly and moving to shield Ginny from view. He didn't think that Marik would attack her here, but the leader of the Ghouls had proven to be an unpredictable opponent at this point. He'd wasted no time in destroying Mai's mind and was clearly relishing in Ginny's misery.

"And just who's going to stop it?" asked Marik. "You?" He cocked his head to the side and casually unsheathed the dagger hidden in the Millenium Rod. "I can end her pain, you know. All it takes is a quick cut across the jugular, and it'll all be over for her. No more duels, no more possession by pathetic spirits..."

"Don't," Ryou snapped. "Don't come near her."

Marik, to his surprise, merely shrugged. "Fine. I want to be able to hear her scream first, anyway." With those words, the blond left the room, sheathing the Rod as he went. Ryou sagged slightly, collapsing into the chair beside Ginny's bed. He really hated feeling like this. He didn't have any freaky magical powers to fight Marik with. The fact of the matter was, had the psycho decided to do anything, he wouldn't have been able to stop him.

The door slid open again. Ryou whirled, thinking that Marik had changed his mind, and relaxed.

"Anzu," he said, relieved. "I thought you were someone else, for a second there."

She didn't answer him at first- just stared at him. Ryou began to fidget, uncomfortable beneath her gaze. Nervously, he glanced down at Ginny.

"You're Ryou Bakura," said Anzu suddenly.

Ryou's eyes narrowed a bit, suddenly feeling suspicious. Her voice was far too monotonous compared to the Anzu he knew.

"You aren't Anzu," he whispered. "What have you done with her? You decided to be a coward and just send someone else to finish Ginny off? I won't let you!"

"What?" Somehow, not-Anzu managed to look startled. "No! I need her alive. I need her help."

"Help?" Ryou choked out. "Does she really look to be in any condition to help you?"

"Oh." Understanding bloomed on not-Anzu's face. "I see. You think that I'm my darker half. That thing that's been walking around in my body."

Now Ryou was confused. That had been Marik who came in earlier and openly threatened Ginny, hadn't it? He'd been after the lot of them since before Battle City had even begun. Still, he didn't think that, with the way Marik was acting now, he'd have been able to pull off acting as Namu. Was not-Anzu telling the truth?

"Are you Marik?" he asked cautiously.

"Yes."

"But then... who's?..."

Marik sighed, folding Anzu's arms. "Okay, so maybe I lied a bit. That monster is me. But he's also not me, if that makes any sense. He's an alternate personality that I created in order to shield myself from the pain of... the ritual that my father put me through. Please," he said, when Ryou showed signs of interrupting. "Listen. I didn't even know he existed until Rishid was knocked out in Jonouchi's duel. I didn't... I'd always thought that the Pharaoh was the reason my father died. I know now that he killed my father. I killed my father."

Ryou sighed, running his hand through his hair. "All right," he replied, deciding to trust Marik for the moment. "How come you're using Anzu's body?"

Marik smirked this time. "She never completely threw off my influence, like Jonouchi did. Don't worry, she's not hurt- just unconscious for the time being."

"Let's say that I believe you're not going to try and kill us all," said Ryou shortly, not missing Marik's slight flinch. "Why do you need Ginny's help? Again, she's in no condition to help you. Neither is Bakura; even if he was, he'd still need to use her body, and that is definitely out of the question."

"She and Bakura are the only ones who would be able to defeat my darker half," explained Marik. Ryou didn't miss that he seemed to already know Bakura's name. "He's a considerably skilled duelist, and she-" he broke off suddenly, looking unsure of himself.

"What?" Ryou asked, eyes narrowing.

"...nothing," Marik replied guardedly.

After a few moments of silence, Ryou said, "Well, okay. Fine. But Ginny really can't help you. I'm not even sure if she'll be able to make it through the night, actually."

Marik joined him at Ginny's bedside, staring down at her with something akin to remorse on his face. "You're right, of course," he said quietly. "I got her into this mess, after all. I made a deal with the Thief King. She was caught in the middle."

"Wait- Thief King?"

"I'll explain some other time." With that, Marik turned, as though intending to leave, when an idea came to Ryou.

"What if I helped you?" he asked, swallowing a bit. He wasn't sure where the impulse to offer his help came from, but he felt that he had to do something. Anything was better than watching helplessly as Ginny sank further and further into oblivion. Marik turned to him, surprised.

"You?" he asked, and Ryou winced a bit at the skepticism in his voice. "I don't think you could. Shadow Games are draining affairs, and I've never seen you duel."

"I can duel, you know," said Ryou, crossing his arms and scowling a bit. "I almost beat Yugi once, which is more than I can say for you!"

It was a low blow, and he knew it; Marik was now openly glaring at him, but Ryou held his ground and stared right back. It was a battle of wills, between blank blue and fierce brown, and he was determined to win.

At last, Marik gave an almost inaudible sigh. "Very well. You may as well take this," he picked up Ginny's duel disk and handed it to him, "because you won't be able to fight him without it. Oh, and-"

_-I'll be hitching a ride with you from now on._

Startled, Ryou caught Anzu before she could crash to the floor and gently settled her into his now vacated chair. He hoped that she would wake up soon and look after Ginny while he was gone. He could sense Marik in his mind, like a parasite, and found himself wishing for a quick victory. Having another mind in his was unsettling, to say the least.

"Right," he said aloud, trying to shove his nerves into a corner. "Let's find your psychotic half."

_Thank you, Ryou._ It was actually sincere, he could tell. _And, just in case..._

"What is it?"

_...I'm sorry. For everything._

* * *

Author's note: Haharr, Marik's inside Ryou! *Shot. Sorry guys, I couldn't resist making a joke about that. ("I always knew you wanted me inside you, Bakura..."

"What do you suppose he means by that?"

"I haven't the faintest idea.")

Anyway, before we get too off topic... here's another chapter! Hopefully, you don't all rebel because I didn't go into detail on Bakura vs. the Pharaoh. Reason being: it happens the same way as it does in the anime, except for the ending. I will go into detail on the final battle, purely because I want some Yami point of view stuff. Buuuuuut that's not for a while.

Anonymous Review Replies:

**Anonymous (Guest): **Yeah, I guess it was kind of different... it was just that I didn't use as many beast type monsters. I probaby should've used Mystic Horseman instead of Ryu-Kishin Powered or something. I'm glad you thought that it worked.

Yes, it seems that Ginny/Ryou is going to be the non-canon fan pairing of the story. I've got everybody rooting for them. Still not changing my mind, though! *Trollface... To be honest, there will be a non-canon pairing in the sequel (which I have started! Rejoice!), but I'm not saying what it is...

Ka reveal will not be in this story, unfortunately. It will be in the sequel. Sorry! I can't wait to reveal it, either! Guess I'd better get writing. I have wondered about witches and wizards being duel monsters, but if you'll remember, both Mahad and Mana were already magicians before they became duel monsters. And yes, watch the queen skydive!

**Guest: **Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'm glad you like it!

That ends the replies! You people are awesome. Saw the Dark Knight Rises this weekend. I haven't seen either of the other ones. People tell me that the second one was better, but I'll have to see. I will say, I wasn't sure what to make of Anne Hathaway being Catwoman, but man- she pulled it off spectacularly, in my opinion. She goes to my list of favorite femme fatales. Reminded me of Irene Adler a bit.

Long A/N is long! Thank you all so much! I hope you liked this chapter (I actually kinda hated myself for it). Please review!


	10. Chapter 9: Helpless

**Paradigm Shift**

**Chapter 9: Helpless**

Finding the other Marik hadn't been as difficult as Ryou anticipated. They'd just barely managed to stop him from murdering Marik's adopted brother while he was still knocked out. Despite Ryou not having any shadow powers of his own, he managed to convince the dark Marik that it would be worthwhile to duel him. Yami Marik (as Ryou had decided to call him) had agreed out of amusement more than anything, and the eagerness to destroy his original self.

_Be on guard,_ Marik warned him as they took their places on the dueling arena. _He holds the Winged Dragon of Ra. It's-_

_The most powerful of the Egyptian Gods. I know._

Yami Marik laughed at him. "Ready to be devoured, boy?" he sneered.

Ryou activated his duel disk, keeping his tone light. "Not just yet. I happen to enjoy life, unlike you."

"Whatever that means," snorted the blond.

"Well, people who have nothing to do except cause bloodshed and get revenge typically don't have very good lives," Ryou said, shrugging.

"Ah." Yami Marik smirked. "What you don't understand, pretty little Ryou, is that I relish causing bloodshed. So you see, I like being alive too. Violence is just so intoxicating."

Ryou tried not to shudder as he drew his first card. "I'll begin by playing one card face down, and then summoning Goblin Zombie to the field in attack mode!"

The monster roared as it appeared, with only 1100 attack points. Still, Ryou was confident that he was safe for the moment. Yami Marik hadn't taken them to the Shadow Realm just yet, so his head was clear.

_Your deck is disturbingly similar to Bakura's,_ Marik commented.

Ryou had noticed that as well. Ever since he was a little boy, he'd been fascinated by occult ideas and collected trading cards according to this interest. When he'd watched Ginny/Bakura's duel against Yami, he'd noticed that they shared many of the same cards, including Dark Necrofear and Destiny Board. There were some differences- cards that he suspected were more to Ginny's liking- but still, the similarities were there.

_I suppose it's not that strange, considering you're almost identical._

Thrown off, Ryou said sharply, "How do you know about that?"

_I've been inside Ginny's mind. Bakura's soul looks practically the same as you do, only slightly more intimidating. I've had my suspicions about this for awhile; I believe that the Millenium Ring was originally meant to go to you. For whatever reason, it ended up in the hands of Ginny instead._

Recalling what had happened to Ginny because of it, Ryou almost wished it had gone to him.

The other Marik retaliated by summoning Drillago and destroying his zombie, but Ryou activated his trap Fearful Earthbound. Marik only laughed.

"Sorry," he sneered. "I activate the magic card Remove Trap!"

Ryou shielded his eyes as his trap was destroyed, and saw his life point counter drop to 3500.

"I think it's time we made things a little more interesting," said Marik, tapping his chin with his finger. As he spoke, shadows inked their way out from behind him, enveloping the playing field in darkness. Ryou bit his lip to keep from crying out as something burned into his leg, and he looked down in horror as he realized that his knee was gone.

"Do you understand the stakes here, little Ryou?" asked Yami Marik. "Every time you lose life points, you lose a part of your body. It's all in good fun, so I trust you won't be holding a grudge against me for this."

"I wouldn't... count on that," Ryou managed to gasp out, straightened. All the feeling his knee had completely vanished; it was the strangest feeling he'd ever had. "I'll set two cards and summon Gernia in defense mode. That's all for now."

"Hmph!" snorted the other Marik. "Couldn't even be bothered to summon something powerful enough to beat my Drillago? That monster only has a measly 1200 attack points."

"Maybe, but it'll be enough."

"It's my move, then." Yami Marik smirked as he drew, wasting no time in activating Card of Sanctity. Both of them drew until they were holding six cards. His next move was to immediately activate Multiple Destruction. They had to discard their hands and draw five more cards, with Ryou losing 600 more life points thanks to the effect. He grimaced as he lost the feeling in his arm, but was still able to hold it up by some miracle.

_This isn't good,_ Marik said warningly. _He's trying to get his God card into his hand as quickly as possible._

Ryou drew his next card, eyes widening slightly. Then he smiled slightly.

_Don't worry,_ he told Marik. _I have a plan._

* * *

Ginny wasn't sure when it stopped. All she knew was that she was suddenly sitting up, back in her room on the blimp.

"Oh!" A startled Anzu jumped back a bit, looking worried. "You shouldn't get up so fast," she reprimanded her, pushing her back down. "You're fever's only just broken, so you're still weak."

"Anzu." Ginny's voice came out as a croak, and she registered that her limbs were all sore; she'd felt as though she was run over by the old Ford Anglia. "What happened? Where's Ryou?" She knew that he was staying in her room, and Anzu was supposed to be staying with Jonouchi, Honda, and Otogi.

"I don't know," whispered Anzu. "I don't even know how I got here, Ginny. I just... woke up here."

Ginny's heart began pounding. "You can't remember anything?" she asked sharply, sitting up again and brushing off Anzu's attempts to get her to lie down. "Nothing at all about how you came in here?"

"No."

"You've been possessed," said Ginny without preamble. Her voice was becoming stronger, and she couldn't feel any pain from her arm any longer. One quick glance at it told her that it was, somehow, healed. She searched within herself, wondering if Bakura had somehow sped up the process. He'd taken on her injuries for a while, but the pain had been too much; he'd instead forced some of it back onto her. Maybe with both of them bearing it, she'd healed faster.

_Bakura?_ she called. There was no answer.

"I have to find Ryou," she said. "I have a feeling he's in trouble. You should go and find Yugi, and tell him that we don't know where he is. I'll check up on the duel arena."

"Why the dueling arena?"

"Just a hunch," Ginny replied, already halfway to the door.

"All right. Just be careful!" Anzu called after her.

Ginny ran through the corridors of the blimp, weaving her way towards the elevator that would bring her to the top. A sense of urgency filled her; she couldn't let Ryou get hurt. He didn't have the same advantage that she did in a Shadow Game. She wasn't sure why she thought he was dueling, but instinct was screaming at her that there was danger up there.

Her fears were confirmed when she stepped outside to find the arena cloaked in shadows. Without a moment's hesitation, she ran inside the Realm, the Ring glowing briefly as its power allowed her to enter the Shadow Game.

She arrived just in time to witness Ryou's midsection completely disappear as he doubled over, his face scrunching up.

"Ryou!" she shouted, taking a step forward, but found herself blocked by an enormous monster on Marik's side.

"Not so fast, my dear," he said, smirking. "You've recovered awfully quickly, haven't you? We'll have to rectify that soon."

"Ginny, you need to get out of here," said Ryou softly. "I can handle it."

"Ryou, you shouldn't have-"

"I couldn't just sit there and do nothing!" he cried, straightening up. She tried to protest again, but he ignored her. "I activate the spell Dark Designator! With this card's ability, I can call out the name of one monster. If that card is in your deck, then it's added to your hand. The card that I choose is the Winged Dragon of Ra!"

Marik scowled, practically ripping the card from his deck. "Just what are you trying to pull?" he snarled.

"This," retorted Ryou. "Activate Exchange! I think you know what happens next."

Ginny reeled. "Wow," she whispered. "He actually pulled it off."

Marik growled slightly, pulling her attention back to him. She was startled; he seemed very different from the way he'd been when she first met him in the back of his Ghouls' truck. Ryou took the god card from him, while he opted to take Ryou's Monster Reborn card.

"I end my turn," announced Ryou.

Marik activated a continuous spell called Vengeful Bog Spirit and finished with that. Once again, Ginny was struck by how different he was. Before, he'd always seemed to her as someone who was careful, calculating every move before making it. Now, he seemed to duel with reckless abandon, not really caring how his moves affected his victory so long as they tormented his opponent.

_That monstrosity isn't Marik Ishtar,_ said Bakura suddenly.

_Huh? But it has to be!_

_It isn't._

"I sacrifice my Headless Knight, my Goblin Zombie, and my Earl of Demise in order to summon the Winged Dragon of Ra!"

The three monsters disappeared in a whirl. Ginny felt a wave of power emanate from Ryou and saw Marik step backwards, his eyes widening in shock as the monster descended from the skies, letting out a fierce cry. The glow from the sun god was almost blinding.

"That's not possible!" howled Marik. "You're not connected to the ancient past. You shouldn't be able to summon Ra. You didn't even need the chant!"

"I don't think you're quite right about him, Dark Me," said Ryou, his voice suddenly sounding distorted. "It was just a hunch before, but I believe that this boy is the reincarnation of the Thief King, who was extremely powerful in his own right. He is connected to the events of 3000 years ago, and by all rights should be able to summon Ra. In fact," here his eyes traveled over to Ginny, "I think that the Millenium Ring was originally meant to be his."

_Interesting,_ Bakura said. _But even if what Marik says is true, his body is already showing signs of strain from sustaining the god._

_Ginny frowned. Wait- so that's Marik, in Ryou's body? But then, who is the other one?_

The other Marik laughed loudly, his eyes bulging slightly as he gave Ryou a demented grin. "It doesn't matter, anyway. I activate Joyful Doom, which takes away the attack points of your monster and adds them to my life points!"

Ryou gave a shout of dismay as Ra's attack points fell to zero, and Marik's were boosted to 8550. The albino had no choice but to switch his dragon and his Puppet master to defense mode, although Ra still had a good chunk of defense points. Ginny didn't like the look on Marik's face; he was smiling smugly.

"Drillago, attack Puppet Master!"

Ryou's other monster vanished, leaving only the Winged Dragon of Ra on his side. _I'm impressed he even got this far,_ said Bakura.

It was once again Ryou's turn. "I sacrifice the Winged Dragon of Ra to summon the Dark Ruler Ha Des!" he exclaimed, the immense dragon vanished and being replaced by a monster with 2450 attack points. "Then, I'll remove three fiend type monsters from my graveyard in order to special summon Dark Necrofear to the field. I'll also activate Premature Burial to bring back my Earl of Demise." Ryou lost 800 more life points, resulting in part of his face being burned away, but he held his ground.

"A valiant effort, pretty little Ryou," sneered Marik, "But I'm afraid I'll have to end this now. We had such fun, didn't we?"

_Oh come on!_ Ginny protested silently. _He's got three good monsters on his side of the field. How can Marik beat him?_

_Use your brain, hostess._

"I activate Monster Reborn to bring back Ra!" Marik threw out his arms and began to gleefully chant the words that would bring Ra out of its strange stasis. On the other side, Ryou closed his eyes and seemed to be almost praying, lips moving silently. Or maybe he was just talking to the real Marik. Ginny wasn't sure.

Once again, Ra took to the field, only this time she wasn't nearly as happy to see it.

"Oh," said the dark Marik. "But before I tear you apart, I suppose you'll want to know what's been happening, witch."

Alarmed, Ginny's head snapped to him. "Don't call me that," she said warningly.

"Why not?" asked Marik, staring at her. "I'm only stating the truth. You are a witch, pure and simple. And pretty little Ryou here deserves to know about it, does he not?"

"Stop it," she hissed warningly. She could sense Bakura preparing to take over should the need arise.

"Ginny? What's he talking about?" called Ryou.

"Wait. I'd forgotten," said Marik, his face twisting into a terrifying leer. "Witches are helpless..." he pulled something from his pocket, "without their magic wands, are they not?"

Ginny froze, transfixed by the familiar sight of her wand in his grasp. She'd forgotten that Marik still had it. As calmly as she could, she extended her hand.

"Give that to me, Marik," she said slowly. "You can't use it anyway."

His insane grin only grew. "On the contrary, little Ginny," he said, aiming the wand at Ryou. Ginny drew in her breath sharply, preparing to run in front of Ryou, but found herself immobilized.

_Let me go!_

_Idiot! Do you want to get us almost killed again?_

_Last time was your doing, anyway!_

Out loud, she cried, "Please, don't-"

_"Crucio!"_

Ryou was screaming before he hit the ground, cards scattering everywhere as he fell. Ginny watched helplessly as he writhed in pain, her mind wiped blank with shock. Questions resounded through her head, over and over again- how did Marik have magic? How did he even know any of the Unforgiveable Curses? Why was he doing this? Why couldn't she help him? All she could do was stare as his trembling form.

"Stop it!" she screamed. Marik only laughed before relenting, leaving a shivering Ryou on the ground.

"What should I do next?" he purred. "Should I cut him open, Ginny dearest? I know that one, too. _Sectum-"_

"No!" she shrieked, her fury at him seeming to explode from her. The Ring emanated light, visibly slamming into Marik and causing him to double over in surprise. Instantly, she felt Bakura take over, channeling more power into the shadows that were holding Marik down. Ryou coughed, forcing himself to stand.

"Finish the duel," commanded Bakura dangerously. "You are obligated to by the Realm. But first, I highly recommend that you hand the wand over to me."

With an almost jerking motion, Marik's arm flung the seemingly harmless piece of wood at him. Bakura relinquished control, allowing Ginny to catch it. Warmth flooded her hand, and she breathed a sigh of relief at having her conduit for her magic back in her possession once more. The next feeling to assuage her was guilt, as she looked over at Ryou, who was staring at her with an unreadable expression.

"Ryou," she began, her voice small.

"It's okay," he said quickly. He smiled bravely, a bit of humor entering his tone. "But I'll want an explanation when I get back."

Throat tightening, Ginny nodded.

"How touching," sneered Marik, not looking quite as amused. "Now, I'll activate Ra's special ability to transfer most of my life points to Ra! His other ability of instant attack will allow me to attack you as many times as is needed to defeat you."

Ginny fell to her knees as she witnessed the other Marik vanished from the field, leaving behind only his eye, and reappear fused together with Ra. He didn't hesitate to attack all three of Ryou's monsters, quickly followed by Ryou himself. The flames of the dragon's attack lit up the arena, and a disembodied scream seemed to echo through the Realm.

_That would be Marik,_ Bakura observed dryly.

Ryou's disappearance was a little slower. The remains of his body disintegrated away to nothing; he shot Ginny an apologetic look that she knew she didn't deserve. A voice in her head that wasn't Bakura's was ranting furiously against the Statute of Secrecy and wishing she could have at least told him about herself before something like this happened.

And just like that, Ryou was gone. Leaving only his cards and her duel disk. The Shadow Realm dispersed, just as Yami and Anzu burst through the elevator.

The Pharaoh took in the scene, his amethyst gaze moving from the disk, to Marik, to Ginny, and back again, quickly putting together the pieces.

"Marik!" he bellowed, glaring. "What have you done?"

The other Marik shrugged innocently. "In my defense, your majesty," he said, "the boy challenged me. He should have known better than to stand in my way. If you'll excuse me..." Anzu jumped out of his way as he left, while Ginny knelt down by the duel disk, gathering up Ryou's deck. She was struck by how similar it was to the one she and Bakura shared.

A hand landed on her shoulder, and she found herself looking into the worried gaze of the Pharaoh. "Are you alright?"

Ginny, for once, had no idea how to respond. So Bakura responded for her.

"No," he said harshly, pulling away. "She isn't."

* * *

They had all gathered in Yugi's room, with Ginny recounting in a hollow voice how Ryou had challenged Yami Marik to a duel in the hopes of protecting her from the malignant entity. Then, the others filled her in on the duels she'd missed while unconscious. Jonouchi had beaten the fake Marik- Rishid- resulting in Rishid falling into a coma. Mai came close to defeating Marik's dark side, but in the end was sent to the Shadow Realm. Kaiba defeated Ishizu Ishtar, resulting in her presenting the Millenium Necklace to Yugi.

They all fell into silence after the storytelling finished. The general mood in the room was tense; Anzu was worried, Ginny was still slightly shocked, Yugi was frowning, Jonouchi was growling under his breath. The others looked simply unsure of what to do.

Finally, it was Shizuka who broke the silence.

"I can't believe he's just... gone," she whispered. "I didn't know Ryou well, but he was nice to me- to everyone. Jonouchi always told me that he wouldn't hurt a fly."

Jonouchi snorted. "You kidding me? Ryou would rather discuss his books with a fly than actually hurt it. I think he was always a lot stronger than any of us gave him credit for. Now I'm wishing I did." He stood up suddenly, his frustration clear on his face. "Damn it!" he shouted. "First Rishid, then Mai, and now Ryou! I swear, that bastard's gonna pay. I'll kick his ass!"

"Jonouchi, calm down!" barked Honda. "If you are going to duel Marik, then you'll need a clear head."

"And stop talking about him in the past tense," Ginny said suddenly. "You're acting like he's dead or something. He's going to come back. He has to."

She felt them all turn to look at her, but didn't glance up from where her hands were clasped together. A part of her was angry at Ryou for being so reckless as to take on Marik's dark side himself. Another part of her was even angrier at herself for letting him risk his life like that, and for him getting hurt with her own wand.

"Of course he will," said Yugi suddenly, looking determined. "We are going to get him back. Him and Mai. They're our friends, and there's no way we can let them stay in the Shadow Realm."

"It's not going to be easy," cautioned Otogi. "He's got the Winged Dragon of Ra, remember?"

"Doesn't matter," snapped Jou. "He's still going down!"

The discussion broke up after this, with Anzu and Shizuka scooting over to talk to Ginny while the guys boosted each other's morale. Ginny assured the two girls that she was fine- fully recovered from her arm wound. She still wasn't entirely sure how that had happened, but she decided that she wasn't going to complain about it. She was out of the tournament, but at the very least she could provide support for Yugi and Jonouchi.

"So, Ishizu is Marik's sister?" she asked.

"Uh huh," said Anzu, looking glum. "From what she told us, he didn't exactly have an easy time of it growing up. He was part of a tomb keeper clan that branded their members with some kind of message on their backs. He had to go through it when he was ten. She thinks that that's why he has DID."

"DID?"

"Dissociative Identity Disorder," Shizuka chipped in. Seeing Anzu's surprised look, she shrunk a little, her face turning red. "I... kind of want to study psychology and help people with mental illness. Anyway, this seems to beyond a normal case. It's not just another aspect of Marik's personality; it's more like he's actually become a completely different, independent person from him. Either way, Otogi's right. It's not going to be easy."

Ginny opened her mouth, about to reply, when a loud crash from the hall caused everyone to pause.

"Hey!" The voice was undoubtedly Isono's. "Who are you? How did you get on the blimp? You didn't board with the other passengers, I know that!"

"It's not my fault!" came a loud, English-accented shout of Japanese. "I swear, sir! I'm sorry I ended up here, and I'll try to leave as soon as possible. I'm supposed to be finding a friend of mine-"

Every vein in Ginny's body seemed to freeze in shock as she stared at the closed door. She knew that voice- but it shouldn't have even been possible, seeing as they were on a blimp thousands of feet into the air. Then again, he was a wizard.

"Anzu, what day is it?"

"Huh?" The brunette looked confused, as did everyone else. "Uh... July 2, I think. But- hey! Where are you going?"

Ginny was already running out the door, barely able to believe her eyes as she took in the sight before her. Isono had twisted the arm of a scrawny boy of fifteen, who had gone still in surprise when he saw her. She stared at him- taking in the familiar sight of toussled black hair, green eyes, and an all too familiar lightning shaped scar on his forehead.

_"Harry!"_

* * *

Author's note OF DOOM: Nah, just kidding. I'm pretty sure I just broke the hearts of all Ryou fans. Sorry about that.

Aaaaaand Harry's here! Bet you weren't expecting that, were you? This is not completely random; I mentioned earlier in the story that Dumbledore would send someone to check on Ginny on July 2. Hehehe... I'm so tired right now...

Huh. This is a first. I can't think of anything else to write. Thank you for reading! Please review!


	11. Chapter 10: Catching Up

**Paradigm Shift**

**Chapter 10: Catching Up**

Ginny didn't give him time to ask as she flung herself at him, barely aware of her actions as she hugged him tightly. She'd never been more relieved to have someone from back home with her. Evidently Isono released him, because he wrapped his arms around her in a reassuring grip. Forcing herself not to cry (she didn't want to look stupid), she smiled at him.

"How are you?" she asked.

He raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "I'm fine. I know your aunt and uncle treat you like hell."

"They haven't actually been that bad this year," replied Harry with a shrug. "I think that they're mostly terrified of me right now. Dudley's been avoiding me all summer, and Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon just completely ignore me. I'm okay with it."

"How about everyone else?" she asked, eager for information.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I don't know a whole lot about everyone else, Ginny. Dumbledore... he didn't really give me a whole lot of warning."

"That sounds just like him," she muttered. "I knew someone was going to be checking up on me, but I didn't know it would be you!"

"I didn't even know you were gone," he admitted, stepping back a bit. "Ron failed to mention it in his letters. I can give you a vague summary, if you like: Percy's still a git, the twins' joke shop is going great, and Hermione's doing fine. She's already panicking about the OWL results."

"I'll bet," Ginny laughed.

"Um... not for nothing, but..."

She started; in her moment of joy, she'd almost completely forgotten about where she was and who was with her. The guilt over Ryou crashed onto her again as she turned around and saw everyone else gathered in the hall, staring at Harry with a mixture of bemusement and suspicion on their faces. Ginny suddenly realized the problems that this would cause; they'd all be wondering how he'd gotten on the blimp mid-flight, while she knew that he had probably just used a Portkey or something.

"Everyone," she said, swallowing, "this is my friend, Harry Potter. Harry, this is Yugi, Jonouchi, Honda, Anzu, Shizuka, and Otogi. They're all people I've met since I got here." She pointed out each of them in turn, trying to get awkward introductions out of the way.

"You mean to say you know this young man, Miss Weasley?" asked Isono.

"Yes," she said firmly.

He nodded curtly. "Very well. He may stay, so long as he doesn't disrupt the tournament. Good evening, duelists."  
With that, he turned and marched away, leaving behind a heavy silence. It was broken by Jonouchi, who was clearly trying to lighten the tension. "You think smiling would break his face?"

Harry cleared his throat. "Erm... hi."

A chorus of 'hi's answered him, but Yugi was the one to step forward, offering his hand. "As Ginny said, I'm Yugi. So, I'm assuming you're from England too?"

Harry took it and grinned. "That's right. Our headmaster assigned me to come check up on Ginny for about a week or so. Sorry about the abrupt entrance. If you're wondering, I got dropped off by helicopter. The headmaster told me he would send a message informing Mr. Kaiba of my arrival."

Ginny felt her eyebrows shoot up at this. Dumbledore had known she was in the tournament? Harry had seemed to provide the backstory about the helicopter part. Evidently it impressed the rest of them, because Jonouchi was giving Harry a, "Say what?" look. She asked them if it would be all right if she could talk to Harry in private for a while, to which they all agreed. Yugi sent her a concerned look, but she gave him a reassuring nod in return.

They made their way back to her room, but ran into an unwanted guest along the way.

Dark Marik sneered at her. "Another little friend of yours, Ginny?" he asked. "Let me guess... he has magical powers, just like you do. I assume that you'll tell him to watch his back. Wouldn't want him to be scared of his own shadow, now would we?" With a laugh, he strode past them, Harry shooting him a furious look before turning to her.

"What was that about?" he demanded. "How did he know what we are?"

Ginny didn't answer at first, leading him down the hall to her assigned room and collapsing on one of the chairs. "It's a long story, Harry," she told him tiredly. "It's all part-"

_He will not know about me,_ said Bakura suddenly. _Is that clear?_******  
**

Harry gave her a concerned look when she didn't continue. "Are you alright?"

Ginny gave an embarrassed smile. "Fine, sorry. I was just remembering something, that's all. Anyway, Dumbledore sent me here because... did Ron tell you that I'd been having trouble remembering things from when I was younger?"

"Yeah, he did," Harry said, nodding. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that. I'm worried that you're getting some kind of relapse from when Riddle was possessing you. The whole blacking out thing hasn't been happening to you lately, has it?"

_Ha!_

Ginny ignored Bakura's amusement. "No, it hasn't. And I have recovered some of my memories. Just short little childhood ones that were no big deal. I don't know why it was happening, but I think I'm going to stay here for a little while longer just to see if the rest of them come back in the meantime- even though things are insane here."

Harry snorted. "That's an understatement. First of all, why are you on a blimp? And what was with that guy back there? He seemed completely off his rocker."

So Ginny explained the goings-on of Battle City, being careful to avoid the subject of the Millenium Ring. She altered the storyline slightly to make it seem as though Marik had just kidnapped her and threatened to tell Yugi and the others about her being a witch if she didn't duel for him. He listened mostly in silence, not appearing to react to most of what she said, but judging by the way his fists clenched, he was none too happy with everything she'd gone through.

"And you want to stay here?" he said, gaping. "It's dangerous! I say we contact Dumbledore and go back to England as soon as possible. This is just..."

Ginny sighed. "It's not so much that I want to stay... well, I do; Yugi and the others are good friends. But I feel obligated to see this whole fiasco through to the end. I think that's why Yugi's friends are all here, too. They don't duel either, but they've still been involved from the start. I have to be here. It'll just feel strange not being here."

"Guess I'm not going to be able to convince you," Harry said, rubbing his forehead. Ginny wondered if that was just a habit or if his scar was hurting him again. "Okay. I'll stay too. It's better than going back to the Dursleys for the summer, that's for sure."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Besides, I don't think that Dumbledore was giving me a choice when he told me to come here. He said something about how maybe I would learn something while I was here, with that look in his eye- you know."

Ginny raised her eyes to the ceiling. "Of course. That's Dumbledore for you."

They both laughed a bit before falling silent; Ginny was surprised by how comfortable she felt around him, considering the huge crush she once had on him. Leaning back, she looked out the porthole, noticing that the sky was lightening outside. She sighed, knowing that this meant she'd gone the entire night without sleeping (being unconscious after her duel with Yugi didn't count; she didn't feel rested). It felt like the longest night of her life- had it really just been yesterday that she first met Marik in person?

A thought suddenly occurred to her. "How was Dumbledore planning on explaining this to Kaiba?"

"Oh, that." Harry shrugged. "He just said that everything would be arranged. I assumed that that was what he was going to do- the thing with the e-mail, I mean."

Ginny scrunched up her eyebrows. "What's an e-mail?" She'd heard the term several times while she was in Japan, but she still had no clue what it meant. Harry made an attempt to explain, but said that it would be better if they had a computer that he could use to show her. "We should probably try to get some sleep," he said, yawning.

Although Ginny agreed aloud, she waited until she could hear his even breathing before she slowly sat up again, feeling too wound up to even consider trying to sleep. She glanced over at where he lay on the extra mattress, grateful that he was there but also feeling a pang when she remembered Ryou. He should've been there, too. She knew that they would've gotten along well.

_You want to let me know why I couldn't tell him?_ she asked. Bakura didn't dignify her question with an answer. A bit annoyed, she mentally prodded him again, to which he responded with a brief headache. She grimaced a bit, determining that he wasn't about to share his reasons with her. Maybe she could read his thoughts?

_I really wouldn't advise that._

Ginny snorted, quickly covering up her mouth when she saw Harry shift slightly. _Why? Afraid I would stumble across some kind of blackmail-material secret of yours? What are you hiding in there?_

Bakura's only answer is a wordless snarl, which she translated to mean, "Stop talking to me." She really didn't understand his mood swings sometimes. She recalled that he was contemptuous of her (old, she told herself, old) crush on Harry when she was eleven; he would often mock her for it, and when he was in an especially bad mood he would punish her in her soul room for dwelling on it too much. That was one of the reasons that she wrote in Riddle's diary- to explain her one-sided crush to someone who seemed to actually care.

_Try to sleep,_ Bakura said abruptly. _I may have sped up the healing process, but it will have taken a lot out of you._

_Would you be able to sleep right now?_

Silence.

For some reason, this bothered her. Out of some strange impulse, she told him:_ I don't blame you for the past._

_Yes, you do._

It had been a lie, and she knew it. There were often times when she found that she just couldn't get angry at him for all the hurt he'd caused her. She could look back on it almost casually, as though the punishments and games had been a part of normal life. But there were also times when she wondered why he felt it was necessary to treat her that way. When she so wanted him to just disappear, when she wanted to kill him for making her like this.

For making her learn how to hurt people.

_I was the one who cast Sectumpsempra, not him,_ she thought bitterly. She didn't know what she thought of herself for doing it. Fear of the faceless man who'd attempted to rape her?

A sudden shudder threw her off the bed like a rag doll; groaning, she sat up and noticed that Harry had been tossed about as well. His eye caught hers, and he raised an eyebrow, rubbing his forehead.

"That didn't sound good," he muttered.

"Nope," she agreed, somewhat relieved that he was awake again. Her stomach was beginning to turn again as she remembered that she was, in fact, inside a muggle flying contraption that had no magical safety guarantees on it. Quickly she jumped up, heading for the door and, consequently, the bridge. "I'm going to go see what's going on."

"I'm coming too," he said resolutely. Ginny noticed that he had his wand in hand, and rolled her eyes.

"Put that away," she told him. "Do you want them finding out we're wizards?"

He frowned, but obeyed. "Where's yours?"

"In my pocket. Oh yeah, forgot to tell you. I managed to get it back from Marik. It was mainly thanks to Bakura." That wasn't really a lie; Ryou's friends sometimes called him Bakura. The spirit grumbled in the back of her mind, but he didn't punish her for it. It didn't really threaten him anyway.

The sight that welcomed them when they got onto the bridge was Kaiba wearing the smuggest smirk Ginny had ever seen. She rolled her eyes at him before focusing on the growing silhouette in the distance. It looked like a tower of some sort, but it was hard to tell with them still being so far away.

"What you're seeing is the KaibaCorp Duel Tower," Kaiba explained arrogantly. "It was built after I destroyed the weapons factory that my father owned here. This is where I hope to bury the past for good."

As he spoke, his eyes slid over to Yugi in a clear challenge. The spiky haired teen was unintimidated, staring right back with a determined look in his eyes. Ginny knew that there was a major rivalry going on between the two, but it was never as palpable as it was at that moment. She wondered if something had happened with them while she was unconscious.

"Don't worry about them," sighed Anzu, walking up next to her. "They're always like that- well, Kaiba more than Yugi. He was obsessive about beating him before, and it looks like it's only gotten worse as time went by."

"Reminds me of Malfoy," said Harry, frowning at Kaiba with distaste. Seeing Anzu's confused look, he explained. "I guess you could call him my archenemy. Ron and I prefer slimy git."

"Trust me," said Ginny. "Harry and Malfoy are worse. If you put them within a thirty meter radius, they'll try to tear each other to shreds."

"Hey!" Harry protested. "I have a bit more self control than he does."

"Oh?" Ginny raised an eyebrow. "Like that time you and him were outside of the Po- chemistry room and you two attacked each other? Hermione had to go the hospital wing for that."

Anzu's hands flew to her mouth. "What happened to her?"

"Nothing too serious," Harry said quickly, shooting Ginny a glare. "Malfoy got her in the mouth; she had a cracked tooth, but her parents are dentists. They got it fixed up all right."

"The point is," Ginny continued, "That Harry and Malfoy never lose an opportunity to one-up each other or insult each other. So I think that they're worse than Yugi and Kaiba."

The landing was, thankfully, smooth, although Ginny's stomach still did somersaults as they descended. The entire group slowly made their way to the Duel Tower, taking in the ruined island around them with awe. Ginny wondered what the history was behind the devastation; so far, all she had gathered was that Kaiba's father built weapons. Either Kaiba was just turning over a new leaf, or he really didn't like his father. There was one difference between him and Malfoy already.

A deranged laugh interrupted her train of thought. Simultaneously, everyone's heads turned to see Dark Marik perched upon a large piece of rubble, grinning gleefully down at them. Ginny withheld a shudder at the sight and could sense Bakura scowling at him. If she hadn't been convinced of his insanity before, she definitely was now.

"Ready to die, Pharaoh?" he asked Yugi casually, as though he were inviting him to have a cup of tea.

Yugi's only response was a scowl; Ginny realized that the Pharaoh had taken over again. Harry noticed that something had changed about him as well, because he nodded toward Yugi and asked, "Is he...?"

"The Pharaoh? Yeah, that's him," she answered. "He's a little intimidating when you first meet him, but he's really a nice guy. Kind of overly formal, but everyone seems to like that about him."

_I don't._

_Tell me something I don't know,_ she shot back. _You've been awfully quiet lately, haven't you. What are you planning?_

_Goodness, Ginevra. Are you always so suspicious? There's really nothing left to do; I can't challenge either Marik or the Pharaoh, so at the moment my plans are on hold. You should relax and enjoy the tournament._

_I doubt it'll be relaxing,_ she said wryly. _Considering that one of the four duelists is a psychopath who acts like Bellatrix Lestrange._

"Hello? Ginny?"

"Huh?" She blinked, realizing that Harry was waving his hand in front of her face. She smiled sheepishly at him. "Sorry, I spaced out. What were you saying?"

He looked concerned. "Don't tell me you're having lapses again."

She shook her head. "No, I remember what I was just doing. I just wasn't paying attention. Sorry, again."

"It's all right," he replied, running a hand through his hair and causing it to go all over the place again. She inwardly giggled a bit at the sight. "I was just wondering if it would be a good idea to talk to the Pharaoh... uh, does he have a name?"

"Actually, I don't." Both teens jumped slightly, not having noticed that Yami was listening in on their conversation. He smiled and held out a hand to Harry. "Yugi told me that this is how English people greet one another. I don't think we've been properly introduced yet."

"I'm Harry Potter," said Harry, shaking his hand. "Er... should I bow, or...?"

The Pharaoh shook his head quickly, taking a step back. "No, that isn't necessary. I don't ask people to bow for me. It just seems... wrong. Anyway, if it helps, you may call me Yami. It's the closest thing I have to a name at the moment."

Ginny smiled to herself and walked ahead of the two. They seemed to be getting along well; maybe it was because they were both the types who threw themselves headfirst into danger when someone they were close to was in danger. Bakura made a noise that sounded suspiciously like retching, but she ignored him and talked to Jonouchi and Honda instead.

She realized that one person was missing. "Isn't Ishizu coming too?" she asked.

Jonouchi frowned and looked around, shrugging. "Guess not. She's one of those weird mystical types. Maybe she figured that once she gave the Millenium Necklace to Yugi, her work here was done, or something like that."

"You think so?" Ginny said. "She struck me as someone who would see things through to the end. But hey, what do I know? I only met her the one time."

"I'm surprised how well the Pharaoh and your friend Harry are getting along," commented Honda, glancing over at the aforementioned pair. "The Pharaoh's not really one for opening up to people he's just met, even if they are acquainted with people he already knows. It took him forever to be okay around us."

"They're pretty similar personality wise," Ginny said. "Harry likes to run into danger regardless of the consequences when his friends are involved." That wasn't to say that it always worked out for the best; she winced, remembering what had happened to Sirius as a result. She could understand why Harry would act that way. He had seen Sirius as his only family.

"Oh boy, another one," muttered Jonouchi jokingly.

Honda elbowed him. "Hey, you're pretty crazy yourself," he said. "You keep ranting about how you're going to face Marik in the finals and rescue Mai from the Shadow Realm. So, what's your game plan, huh?"

"I don't have one, okay?" retorted Jonouchi, elbowing him back. "I figure I'll just kick his ass and that's that."

At that, Otogi joined in the conversation. "How do you think Kaiba's going to organize the matches, anyway?"

"Who knows," Ginny sighed.

The Duel Tower turned out to be much larger than it had appeared from a distance. She squinted up at the top just before entering, not caring how the sun hurt her eyes. The room they went into was simple: four walls, each with one open door and what looked like chairs in the middle. Harry made his way back over to her after the duelists were told to choose a door, watching with amusement while Jonouchi made a big deal out of picking a door.

"Seems like you two hit it off," she teased. "Must be something about those saving the world types."

To her surprise, Harry grimaced at this. She looked at him worriedly; when he noticed, he coughed a little bit. "I'm not exactly saving the world material."

"Oh, please," she scoffed, placing her hands on her hips as they and the other guests were escorted to a separate elevator so that they could watch the four way duel about to take place. She switched back to English for a moment. "Need I list off your many achievements these past five years? The least of which was saving me from the Chamber of Secrets-"

"No, that's okay," he interrupted quickly. "That was all-"

"Luck," she finished for him. "Don't bother using that excuse. Hermione's told me that that's the one you like to fall back on. Plus, I was at the first DA meeting, remember? Yes you had help, but you were the one who kept moving forward."

"Can we not talk about this right now?" grumbled Harry. He went back to using Japanese. "I'm interested to see one of these duels, anyway. If they're as exciting as everyone says they are, then I want to be able to pay attention to them."

Ginny raised her hands in a gesture of surrender. "Fine, fine. I've never seen a four way duel before, anyway. Should kick things up a notch."

She proved to be right; once the first turn took place, Kaiba quickly set his sights on Jonouchi. There was another bit of tension that she'd previously overlooked. She knew that Jonouchi disliked Kaiba a lot more than the rest of his friends. It now appeared that the feeling was mutual, judging by the contempt that the CEO was showing for the blond duelist. Yami quickly stopped the attack. For some reason, Jonouchi looked annoyed by this.

Marik then pulled a vicious move, transferring damage that should have been dealt to him back to Jonouchi. The device holding Jonouchi rose higher than the others, revealing what happened when someone lost life points. Yami was the next to go up as a result of him using a trap that cost life points, followed by Marik.

The duel continued in much the same manner until Jonouchi revealed to everyone just how determined he was to be the one dueling Marik, although Ginny suspected that that was Yami's intention as well. In a well-executed move, he took the blond Egyptian out of the duel before explaining to the Pharaoh what he was planning.

"Look," he said. "I get that you wanna keep Marik from hurting anyone else, but this is something I have to do. For Mai's sake. I know what'll happen if I lose, and I'm willing to accept the consequences. Besides, I bet Kaiba can't wait to get revenge for me cutting his life points down to size earlier. So, please Yugi. I need to lose this one."

The two friends stared at one another for a moment before the Pharaoh nodded. As Jonouchi predicted, Kaiba was only too happy to get rid of the rest of his life points and send him to the top with Marik. Ginny suddenly felt nervous; she didn't want Jou to disappear the same way Ryou did. Something told her that this duel was a bad idea.

"Like Ron," Harry murmured.

That jolted her slightly. "What?"

Harry shook his head. "Underneath the castle, when we were trying to stop Voldemort from stealing the Sorcerer's Stone, Ron told me I was the one who had to go on before he sacrificed himself in the chess game. This isn't going to end well."

"Yeah," agreed Ginny. "But I think he knows what he's getting into more than either of us do. He's been around all these Shadow Games longer than we have."

"I s'pose."

Once everyone was atop the Duel Tower, Isono announced the matches.

"The duels are set!" he called. "The first will be Katsuya Jonouchi versus Marik Ishtar. The second will be Seto Kaiba versus Yugi Mutou. The first match will begin in five minutes!"

Ginny wished Jonouchi good luck along with everyone else. He grinned at her in response, although she could tell that he was nervous. She could hardly blame him; she was nervous, too.

_Hopefully he won't need luck,_ she thought.

_I doubt that,_ answered Bakura.

* * *

Author's note: Gawd, I'm so tired. I have marching band for five hours every day, plus two hours of cross country... but at least I still have time to update. I always kinda had the feeling that the Pharaoh and Harry would be best buddies. Aaaaand on that note... I really have nothing else to write about. Hooray for the shortest A/N ever! Thank you for reading, and please review!


	12. Chapter 11: Over the Edge

**Paradigm Shift**

**Chapter 11: Over the Edge**

The two opponents took their places at opposite ends of the arena, sizing each other up. Jonouchi was trying hard to put on a tough face, but it was difficult not to be intimidated by the confident sneer on Dark Marik's face. Ginny shuddered at the glint in Marik's eyes as he activated his duel disk, sliding his deck into the slot.

"Ready for the shadows to consume you?" he asked, grinning eerily.

"Eh... not really," replied Jonouchi, still keeping his cool. "I am ready to wipe that grin off your ugly face, though."

"What's creepy is that Marik says it so matter of factly," muttered Anzu. "You'd think it was an everyday occurrence from the way he puts it."

"To him, it probably is," said Ginny, wincing at the thought.

"Ginny?" Harry said.

"Yeah?"

"I think I've just found Bellatrix's new best friend."

"You've read my mind."

"Doubtful. I'm not a good Legilimens." They both laughed tensely at the lame joke, not noticing the curious looks that the others gave them.

Ginny watched anxiously as the duel began; thankfully, Marik didn't appear to have any intention of bringing forth the Shadow Realm at first. That is, until Jonouchi managed to damage his life points by 200, outsmarting the Egyptian with surprising ease. Dark Marik didn't take this too well, and they soon found themselves surrounded by murky blackness. The redhead shivered, already hating where the duel was going.

"Oi!" Jonouchi yelled. "What's with the weird glowy rope thing?"

Dark Marik was only too happy to explain. "Why, that's your soul rope," he said, smiling darkly. "It connects your soul to that of your monster's. You're familiar with the fact that in Shadow Games, the cards come to life, correct?"

"What about it?" spat Jou.

"Well, anything your monster feels... you feel it too."

There was a long pause following this statement; someone could've dropped a pin, and it would have been audible. All hell proceeded to break loose afterwards, with Honda and Otogi both shouting at Marik, Anzu actually taking a step back, and the Pharaoh snarling something. Ginny couldn't help but join in the cacophony of shouts.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she shrieked. "If one of his monsters is destroyed, he..."

Dark Marik smirked. "That depends on his strength, little Ginny."

_I'll admit that I'm impressed with his creativity,_ said Bakura.

_How can you say that? This gives Marik an advantage over Jonouchi! A completely unfair one, at that._

_Look at Marik,_ snapped Bakura. _He has a soul rope as well! Any rule made in a Shadow Game affects both sides. Use your brain, hostess._

It turned out to be Jonouchi who stopped the chaos. "I can handle it," he insisted before proceeding with his turn. He summoned his Rocket Warrior, but Marik countered by summoning his Plasma Eel and equipping it to Panther Warrior. She couldn't deny that she felt some dark satisfaction at seeing Marik writhe as a result of Rocket Warrior's effect. That satisfaction was quickly replaced by horror when Dark Marik began laughing.

"Sorry to disappoint you," he sneered. "But I happen to enjoy pain."

"Say WHAT?!" yelled Jonouchi.

"He just threw up in his mouth, and he's happy?" said Anzu, looking disgusted. "That is so gross..."

Things began to take a turn for the worse for Jonouchi. His monsters were losing attack points thanks to the Plasma Eels (and consequently causing him to feel more agony), not to mention some card called Helpoemer was taking one card from his hand at the end of each of his turns. She felt sick to her stomach to see what each passing move did to Jou; somehow, it seemed even worse than Ryou's duel.

Harry shook his head. "The last duel was intense," he said quietly, "but this is just... believe it or not, I'm glad that you're out of the tournament, Ginny."

She couldn't quite bring herself to agree with him, but she couldn't disagree, either.

"It's my turn-" began Jonouchi.

"Hold on," interrupted Marik. "I activate my Nightmare Wheel trap card, and I'll be targeting your Rocket Warrior! As a result, it can't attack or switch positions. As for its other effect... you'll have to wait and see."

"Fine!" snapped Jou. "I summon Little Winguard in defense mode!" The tiny winged knight appeared in a crouch, with 1800 defense points. "Next I'll switch my Panther Warrior to defense mode too." The big cat also crouched down, but Jou still groaned in pain when 500 more of his attack points were drained. Ginny forced herself not to look away, knowing that Jonouchi didn't want her pity.

"To start," Marik said, grinning, "my Nightmare Wheel inflicts five hundred points of direct damage during my standby phase. Oh, and did I mention your monster suffers?"

Jonouchi coughed but remained upright. "Nope. Pretty sure you didn't."

Marik's only response was a chuckle. The attack points of his Legendary Fiend rose thanks to its special ability, and it attacked and destroyed Little Winguard. Jonouchi lost three hundred life points as a result. A sudden thought occurred to Ginny: where was Shizuka? Surely she would want to be supporting her older brother in one of the toughest duels of his life. She asked Honda if he knew.

"She wanted to stay with Mai," the brunette explained. "She really looks up to her and wanted to be there for her. Don't worry; she'll show up if Jou really needs her. They're bonded like that."

Ginny hoped that was the case, because it looked like Shizuka was going to be needed before long. Jonouchi was already panting with the effort of staying on his feet, yet he was still hanging on to his life points. He drew his next card, and suddenly a huge grin appeared on his face.

"Hey Maaaaaariiiik," sang Jonouchi. "Guess what I drew? It's a little card that I like to call Question!"

Marik frowned, looking a bit unsure for the first time. "Just what is that supposed to do?"

"Here's how it works," said Jou. "You have to name the card that's at the bottom of my graveyard. If you guess right, then I have to remove it from play. Guess wrong, and I get to summon it right to the field."

Ginny held her breath. Jonouchi was practically dancing about with glee, while Marik was visibly sweating from the question. For the first time since the duel had begun, she felt excited; maybe this was Jonouchi's chance to get ahead of Marik. Finally Marik let out a wordless snarl and gave up.

"Hehe!" cheered Jonouchi. "I knew you wouldn't be able to guess it right, 'cause it's the first card that your Helpoemer sent to my graveyard. Say hello to Jinzo!"

"No!" shrieked Marik.

"Oh yes," said Jonouchi. "That means all your traps are useless!"

The enormous cyborg rose almost ominously from the card, blasting away the three traps that Marik had on the field. Cheering broke out amongst the spectators, with Honda whooping while Anzu shouted words of encouragement. The Pharaoh remained silent, but even he seemed unable to keep the grin off of his face. Suddenly, the shadows surrounding them all didn't seem nearly as frightening.

Kaiba snorted. "Please," he scoffed. "I'll only be impressed if he manages to defeat Marik's Egyptian God Card."

Anzu shot him a dirty look. "I'd like to see you up there, trying not to pass out!"

The CEO remained unfazed. "As if a bunch of hocus-pocus nonsense could affect my dueling."

Jonouchi managed to get Marik's life points down to 1900 thanks to Jinzo, but Marik negated his other two attacks. Things took a turn for the worse after that when his opponent sacrificed Jinzo and Baby Dragon to summon a monster called Lava Golem on Jou's side of the field. Despite the fact that it had a whopping 3000 attack points, there was a drawback in that it melted with every turn.

Ginny deflated like a balloon. "Just when things were looking up..." she murmured.

Jonouchi's monsters were once again set upon by Plasma Eels. Thankfully, the blond's desperate move using Graceful Dice worked, destroying the leeching monsters and allowing him to summon one of his trump cards: Gilford the Lightning. Marik actually seemed alarmed at the appearance of such a powerful monster. Despite that, the psycho deflected his attack, forcing 1000 points of damage onto Jou and discarding one card from his hand. Once this action was completed, he began laughing like a maniac.

"You're finished, you fool!" he screamed. Everyone flinched at the hysteria in his voice. "I activate Monster Reborn to bring back the card I just sent to the graveyard- the Winged Dragon of Ra!"

"No!" shouted Ginny. Similar yells were erupting from everyone watching as the massive golden dragon rose up at Marik's call. It soon became encased in fire, shrieking at Jou and preparing to attack. Marik explained that it had the ability to destroy all monsters on Jou's side of the field; he was confident that the pain and exhaustion would be enough for Jonouchi to be defeated.

"Attack!" he bellowed.

Everything seemed to slow down: the stream of fire that was set on engulfing Jonouchi, Marik's horrible laughter, Harry's wand suddenly in his hand, Bakura taking over and shoving it down- _If he interferes with the Shadow Game, then he will be the one to die!_- her mouth opening wordlessly as a long, drawn out scream rang through the air, smoke obscuring her view, Ra finally disappearing from the field.

Shock and terror set in a moment later; she couldn't move or speak, eyes fixed on the side where Jonouchi was. Suddenly, hope flared through her and Marik gasped in surprise.

Jonouchi was still standing.

"Come on Jou!" called Honda. Ginny soon heard words of encouragement from the others as well, including Harry. She knew that he could win- he could actually win! All he had to do was draw a monster with high enough attack, summon it, and attack Marik directly. She smirked at Jonouchi's opponent- he knew it as well, judging by the fearful expression on his face.

"I... summon... Gearfried..." Jonouchi choked out, legs trembling with the effort of standing. "Gearfried..." He reached out as though to grasp victory, just as Shizuka sprinted up the stairs. Ginny's mind blanked when he pitched forward, falling through the hologram of his knight before it disintegrated. His sister screamed his name.

"Tch. He gave me that much trouble?" muttered Marik.

And just like that, Ginny snapped.

"YOU DICKHEADED BASTARD!" she shouted. An almost uncontrollable rage fuelled her as the Ring seemed to explode with light. Marik was thrown off of the dueling arena by the wave of power, with her already advancing on him, wand drawn. "You're going to get what's coming to you," she hissed, aiming the tip of her wand at the artery in his throat. _"Sectum-"_

"Ginny, NO!"

Without warning, someone tackled her from behind, simultaneously knocking her wand from her hand.

"Get off me, Harry!" she shrieked, clawing for her wand. "I'm going to kill him, and it won't be pretty, either! Who cares about Avada Kedavra, he's going to get his throat cut-"

_"Stupefy!"_

* * *

There was a moment of shocked silence. Harry quickly became aware of everyone's eyes on him. He looked from his wand to Ginny, unconscious on the ground, to Marik, who somehow managed to look unfazed by this turn of events. Shame suddenly flooded him for stunning his friend, but he quickly turned around to assure the others that she was only knocked out for the time being.

They all looked uncertain, but nodded anyway. Mokuba had rushed onto the dueling platform to check on Jonouchi. The boy stiffened, eyes widening in fear.

"He's not breathing," he whispered, then louder, "He's not breathing!"

"What?" yelled Honda, hurrying over, quickly followed by everyone else. Jonouchi's little sister collapsed by his side, sobbing uncontrollably. Honda shouted at the blond, reaching out to punch him, but was stopped by Otogi. Mokuba called for a doctor, while Harry carefully picked up Ginny, deciding that reviving her wasn't exactly the best idea yet.

Marik, after once again trying not to throw up (and narrowly succeeding), passed by him on his way off the top level of the tower. He smirked at Ginny as he passed, commenting, "I'm impressed," as though she hadn't just tried to take his life. Harry briefly considered casting the curse that would have him vomiting up slugs, but decided that he'd already broken the Statute of Secrecy enough for one day. He sighed; a Ministry official would probably be showing up to investigate soon.

Isono announced the results; Jonouchi was no longer able to duel, thus Marik was the winner. What had seemed like just a card game was turning into a dangerous fight for everyone. Just as they began making their out of the arena, Ginny stirred. A groan escaped her as her eyes fluttered open, before they went wide and she jumped away from him before clutching her head. "Shut up, I don't-" Harry blinked, confused; he hadn't been talking to her just now. "I know that!" she snapped. "No, I don't know what happened, I just- argh!"

She collapsed on her side, breathing heavily. Confusion turned to alarm as he hurried to her side again. "Sorry," she gasped out to him. "It'll stop in a sec- he's just... angry..."

"Huh?" Harry's eyes traveled to something he hadn't noticed before: a golden pendant, similar to Yugi's Puzzle, that was resting on her abdomen. He was sure that it hadn't been there before, but it automatically gave him a bad feeling. He tried to pull it off of her, but yelped when it burned his hand. Ginny's breathing evened out a moment later, and she pushed herself to her feet, sending him a look that was part apologetic, part anguished. She walked past him to where Jonouchi and the others were, saying something quietly to them. To Harry's surprise, Anzu hugged her tightly and Honda placed a hand on her shoulder. Yugi still seemed to be in shock; his eyes were on Jou, but they were unfocused.

The doctors arrived; they got Jonouchi onto a stretcher, informing everyone that he was breathing again. Harry sagged in relief, but Ginny still seemed tense. As they headed back to the blimp, staying a few steps back from the others, he glanced at her. Her shoulders were hunched and she seemed especially subdued.

Finally, he couldn't stand it. "Why do you have one of those?" he blurted, pointing at the necklace.

Ginny didn't look at him, but her hand gripped the pendant. "There's a big part of the story that I didn't tell you," she began quietly. "The real reason why I came to Japan... well, I didn't know it myself at first. I just wanted to figure out the memory lapses. I do have them all back now... including ones that I'd forgotten from when I was ten, eleven years old.

"The summer before you met Ron, Bill came back from Egypt and gave me this as a present. I thought it was beautiful, so I was grateful, of course. Except... a few days later, Ron and I were playing chess. I blacked out in the middle of it, and when I came to Ron was in a coma."

Harry looked at her sharply, remembering the lecture she'd given him during the holidays last year, before Sirius... "Possession?"

Ginny nodded. "I always used to just think of him as the Voice. Now I know that he's some kind of thief from ancient Egypt. But... he's not like Yami. He's... let's just say I'm going to be hurting for telling you this later. He's letting me off now so that he doesn't have to walk back to the blimp himself.

"Anyway, before you came down into the Chamber, he took over and actually protected me from Tom. He summoned some kind of monster to fight him, but Riddle used the Imperius Curse to force Bakura-"

"Wait a minute," Harry interrupted. "Bakura? As in Ryou Bakura?"

"No!" Her vehemence surprised him. "No. Same name, and he has a big resemblance to Ryou, but they are nothing alike. I'll explain about that later.

"Anyway, Tom used the Imperius Curse on the monster Bakura summoned. I don't know how I know this, but it was a part of his soul, so it affected him badly. I think Riddle used the spell to subdue him and make him go dormant or something. Then he wiped my memory of everything about Bakura. So, I spent the next few years without remembering anything the spirit did to me. When the lapses started... I think that was him, starting to wake up again."

She then recounted everything that happened to her in Battle City- being caught up in Bakura and Marik's plan, Marik stabbing her, the hospital, how Ryou was the one who helped her the most (she said it wasn't the others' fault; they just didn't know), her duel against Yugi and subsequent fever, how Bakura had actually protected her from dying of Osiris' attack. How she thought it was strange that he wasn't really acting up anymore.

A peculiar expression appeared on her face- like she was trying not to laugh. "Bakura says that Marik's having withdrawal symptoms right now. Since he didn't finish the Shadow Game properly, the realm is punishing him."

Harry didn't respond; he was too busy trying to absorb everything she'd told him. What he wanted to do most was stab the Ring with a Basilisk's fang, like he'd done with Riddle- but apparently that would damage Ginny's soul. He also wanted to strangle Bakura for everything he'd put her through. Something was confusing him though: there were times, during her explanation, when she spoke of Bakura almost fondly- like she didn't mind his past actions.

"I'm sorry I lost it earlier," she murmured. "That was me, not him, by the way." She rubbed her arms, shivering slightly. "I don't know why I know such a horrible spell. I think I'm becoming more like him, as time goes by. So... if I say anything stupid or offensive, I'm sorry in advance. He has scorn for a lot of people."

Neither of them said anything as they arrived at the blimp. Harry winced, knowing that both he and Ginny were going to have some explaining to do in regards to their magic. He had stunned her in full view of everyone else, after all, and she had been prepared to curse Marik badly. Thankfully, that explanation seemed to be the last thing on everyone's mind; they were all crowded around Jonouchi, who was attached to several different monitors. Shizuka was kneeling at his bedside, shaking with sobs. Everyone else listened worriedly as the doctor explained his condition.

"Do you think," Ginny murmured, eyes fixed on her near-death friend. _"Ennervate..."_

Harry shook his head. The pit of his stomach was telling him that that was a bad idea. Besides, neither of them had any idea what effect that their magic would have on whatever Marik did to him.

It suddenly occurred to him that he had no right to be there. He barely knew Jonouchi; Ginny, however, had been hanging out with the blond for a few weeks now, and the others... well, he could tell that they were a tightly knit group, similar to himself, Ron, and Hermione. Quietly he exited, ignoring the confused look that Ginny sent his way.

To his surprise, he found Yugi outside as well. He blinked; wasn't Yugi supposed to be Jonouchi's best friend? He jumped a bit when the normally soft spoken boy suddenly punched the wall and let out a yell of frustration. Harry realized that it was Yami, not Yugi, who was currently in control, and stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do.

"... I couldn't even help him..."

The words were so quiet that Harry almost couldn't make them out. Suddenly he was watching Sirius fall through the veil again, his own shout of rage ringing in his ears: _"She killed Sirius! She killed him- I'll kill her!"_

Stepping forward, he said softly, "This isn't the time to be beating yourself up. Unlike the rest of us, you have the ability to do something about it."

The Pharaoh looked at him blankly. "I don't know what to do," he said, voice devoid of emotion. "Should I duel Kaiba? Should I stay here with Jou? What is the right thing to do, in this case?"

"Whatever it is," Harry said firmly, "it's not what you're doing now. The way I see it, your best chance of helping him is by defeating that psycho. From what everyone's told me, if anyone can do it, you can. Jonouchi did this to help you. I know from Ginny that she was willing to die so that you could advance through the finals. So, are you going to give up now?"

Yami looked a bit startled at his words, but some of the life returned to his eyes. He chuckled dryly, leaning back against the wall. "I must look pathetic."

Harry shrugged, mimicking his action on the opposite side of the hallway. "Not really. Just proves you're a human being."

They stood there in a comfortable silence. Harry realized that Yami felt as though he was just as much of an outsider as he was. It wasn't so much how long he'd known them, though; it was more about how well _they_ knew _him._ Ginny had told him that the concept that the Pharaoh was actually separate from Yugi was confusing for most people.

Yami pushed himself off of the wall. "It's almost time for the second match," he commented, sounding a bit more normal. He nodded in what Harry realized was respect. "Thank you."

"No problem." Harry paused. "I'll come watch in a bit; Ginny's been beating herself up over what she almost did. And to be honest, I have no right to judge her for it."

The Pharaoh nodded again, beginning to move away to the exit of the blimp. He stopped and turned again when the door to Jonouchi's room suddenly opened again and Anzu rushed out, looking distraught. Harry went back inside, briefly hearing her pleading before the door slid shut and cut off the sound.

* * *

Ginny wasn't even sure if what was happening was reality anymore. She'd thought that the initial days of the tournament were a hullabaloo, but they didn't even come close to how out of control the finals had gotten. She currently had one arm wrapped around Shizuka's shoulders, trying to steady the shaking girl. She'd offered this gesture of comfort and was surprised when the girl leaned into her, crying into her shirt. Anzu left the room and Harry came back in, stopping when he saw her position.

At that moment Ishizu chose to take over, speaking soothingly to Shizuka and freeing Ginny to talk to Harry. She wanted nothing more than to cry like Jou's sister was, but she kept her expression controlled.

"Sorry about earlier," Harry said. "I should've said... well, I know what it's like to want to kill someone for revenge."

She didn't need a confirmation; she already knew exactly what he was talking about. Bleakly, she wondered if the Ring was really at fault for her reaction to Jonouchi's "death" earlier. Everyone seemed to think so, since they weren't treating her like she was about to explode or something. Maybe it wasn't, though; maybe she was just a violent person inside. Maybe she was putting everyone in danger by being here; what if the next person she blew up at wasn't an enemy, but a friend? Her stomach turned at the thought of using Sectumsempra on Anzu, or Jonouchi, or even Harry.

Sighing in frustration, she ran her fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp. That action abruptly stopped as Bakura took over her body, exiting the room and heading for the Duel Tower again. Harry quickly caught up with them, glancing at her in perplexity. She concentrated for a moment before she created her own spectral form beside Bakura.

_What's this all about?_ she asked sharply. _Going to throw me off the tower as punishment?_

_No,_ he snarled. _I'm preventing you from doing exactly that. Your self-hatred is pathetic. I've half a mind to shut you down right now and just watch the Pharaoh's duel myself. I have things to do before you commit suicide._

_Give me control back,_ she said, equally irritated. _Suicide isn't on my agenda. I'm not even considering it; at most, I would just leave._

_And go where? Back home to your mortal family and friends? They'd be in just as much danger, especially since Voldemort's going to have his eye on you from now on. Face it, Ginevra: you're stuck here._

She hadn't thought of that, but of course if Lucius Malfoy had failed to report back, then You-Know-Who had probably sent another spy in his place. If so, then they probably found out from the Ghouls that she was a carrier of a Millenium Item, as well as a volatile spirit that enjoyed torturing helpless souls for the fun of it. She felt a flash of triumph from Bakura as she acknowledged this.

"You alright, Ginny?" asked Harry, concerned.

Bakura whirled around, glaring at him. "Make sure she doesn't do anything stupid," he ordered, before practically shoving Ginny back into her body. She blinked, momentarily disoriented, while Harry watched her carefully. His green eyes glimmered with speculation.

"That was him, wasn't it?"

"Yes, but for once he didn't do anything major. Just lectured me." It was almost as if he cared.

_Don't count on it,_ growled Bakura._ For telling him about me, you're getting punished later... on second thought, you seem to be hoping for that right now. I'll just leave you in suspense then._

_Arse. It's not like I had a choice._

She felt a brief flash of surprise at the insult, and then spun uncontrollably as though someone had delivered a blow to her head. Harry caught her before she could crash into the wall. She shook her head at his concerned look, silently asking him not to say anything.

They continued on their way to Yami's duel.

* * *

Author's note: Soooo... Ginny's the Incredible Hulk? Just kidding. And awww, Bakura cares. Maybe. Actually, probably not. At this point, he's just using her.

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I was at my family reunion this weekend, and am a little bit late because of that. Got a bit dazed while tubing, because my aunt took us on some very tall waves. It was awesome!

Thank you to all readers, and I hope you liked this chapter. Please review!


	13. Chapter 12: Uninvited Guests

**Paradigm Shift**

**Chapter 12: Uninvited Guests**

The second duel wasn't nearly as nerve wracking as the first, although the tense rivalry between the two was pushed to the breaking point. Kaiba was fighting with everything he had, showing absolutely no mercy to his opponent; Yami was doing the same, although it seemed that he was on the defensive most of the time. For some reason, she felt a wave of anxiety from Bakura when Osiris and Obelisk clashed with one another; they were all blinded for a brief moment before the gods vanished from the field.

Dark Marik had joined them at some point and seemed very frustrated about something after the fight between the gods. Bakura laughed at him when he was yelling at the Millenium Rod; Ginny ignored the both of them. The duel then took a turning point, with both duelists falling back on the cards they were more well known for: the Blue-Eyes White Dragon and the Dark Magician. Now it seemed almost as if Yami was barely hanging on.

Just as Diffusion Wave Motion was activated, destroying all of Kaiba's monsters and winning the duel for the Pharaoh, a shout rang out behind them. Ginny's thoughts stilled for a moment, recognizing that voice easily.

"Jou!" she yelled hurrying over and hugging him. Then, realizing that they hadn't known each other for that long, she let go and stepped away, a bit embarrassed. Still, she was beaming at him. "You're alright! You actually look... well, normal."

"Yep," he answered, grinning. "And I got here just in time to see Yugi's finishing move. Man, that was awesome!" he called out to the Pharaoh, who turned around looking stunned. Then his face broke out into a broad smile, indicating that Yugi was back once again.

"Jonouchi!" he cried, hopping off of the platform to greet his best friend. Ginny looked over to where Kaiba was standing, still with a completely shocked look on his face. She found herself wincing a bit; he had showed more emotion in this one duel than she'd seen from him in the past week. He'd done everything he possibly could to win it, only to once again be beaten by his rival. That wasn't to say that she liked his attitude, but still...

Mokuba was running over to him, trying to console his older brother in spite of his loss. When Kaiba began to exit the stadium, his eyes strangely vacant, it was (surprisingly) Jonouchi who stepped forward to stop him.

"What's up with you?" he asked, crossing his arms. "You're just gonna give up, just like that? Just because you lost?"

Kaiba scowled at him and threw Obelisk the Tormentor at Yugi's feet. The spiky haired boy looked at Kaiba with concern before adding the card to his deck. Jonouchi, however, wasn't about to let it go. "You shouldn't be such a sore loser, Kaiba."

"I hardly need a pep talk from you, mutt," snapped the CEO.

"Mutt?! Why you-" But for once, Jou calmed himself down, though it took visible effort. "Here's an idea: how about a duel for third?"

Kaiba snorted and began to walk away again. "Please. Like I'd waste my time on an amateur like you."

That didn't faze the blond either. "Aw, what'sa matter? You scared you might lose?"

Kaiba stopped walking. Jonouchi had hit his weak spot- and judging by the look on Jonouchi's face, he knew it too. The brunette whirled around, mouth twisted in a snarl.

"There's no way I'd lose to such a pathetic chump!"

"Then prove it!" Jonouchi challenged him, stepping forward with a smirk.

Kaiba's eyebrow twitched. "Fine," he snapped tersely, sweeping out of the arena with his trench coat flapping dramatically. Jonouchi followed him, looking eager to take on the CEO, while the others just looked bemused by what had happened.

Honda broke the silence. "Was it me, or was Jonouchi the one keeping his cool this time?"

"I saw it too," said Ginny, raising her hand.

"I think it was Jonouchi's way of cheering Kaiba up, actually," Yugi commented thoughtfully. "They might claim to hate each other, but in a way Jonouchi knew exactly what Kaiba would need."

Honda raised a doubtful eyebrow. "Even if it means getting insulted repeatedly?"

They continued the discussion on their way out of the dueling arena. The coliseum vanished, revealing Marik standing on the edge. Ginny frowned at him slightly, but followed the others out; as long as no one else decided to come up there, there was no point in keeping an eye on him. Harry was giving him a suspicious look as well, but like her chose not to do anything about it.

"Think they forgot about us?" Harry muttered when they were heading towards the site of the duel. "About our magic, I mean."

"It's probably in their subconscious right now," Ginny pointed out. "They're going to remember that we owe them an explanation eventually. I'm just surprised that we haven't gotten dragged back to England by the Ministry yet, or arrested by the Japanese wizarding government. What usually happens when you do illegal magic?"

Harry shrugged. "Usually I get a letter from the Ministry informing me that I've broken the rules, that they're going to snap my wand, that sort of thing."

Ginny frowned. "I used magic earlier in the tournament too, and I still haven't gotten any notices. I didn't realize it then; I was a bit preoccupied."

She wondered how they were going to explain; it was illegal for muggles to know about magic, but then again her Japanese friends were already very much involved in magic of another sort. They'd even tried to hide that from her until it became apparent that she had a Millenium Item herself. There was also the added problem that Voldemort knew about and was taking interest in the Items; they would need to be warned of the danger.

Jonouchi and Kaiba's duel began badly for the blond; much of his deck was annihilated by Crush Card Virus, which destroyed all monsters of his that had more than 1500 attack points. The CEO then proceeded to attack Jonouchi directly, wiping out almost half of his life points. Thankfully, Jonouchi proved to be a tough opponent, destroying Kaiba's La Jinn.

As the duel progressed, Ginny noticed Anzu suddenly leave, heading for the Duel Tower. Remembering that Marik was still up there, she managed to slip away as well, glad that Harry was temporarily engrossed in the duel. There was a feeling of foreboding in her gut, but she didn't want Anzu getting hurt.

* * *

Marik was very, very close to panicking.

This was his first time being fully coherent in a while. He'd been vaguely aware of the other duels going on through Anzu's eyes, but now he'd finally managed to gather enough strength to actually take over. The rampage that his dark side was going on had to be stopped, and it had to be him that stopped it.

He'd managed to surprise his darker half enough that he got the Rod away from him, but it had been only too easy for his adversary to take it back again. He was now very close to being knocked off the tower, which would mean not only his life, but Anzu's as well. The girl was innocent, and didn't deserve such an end.

"Who knew I would get to kill you again?" sneered the abomination. "This is going to be fun..." He licked his lips in anticipation. _Don't panic,_ Marik told himself over and over again. It wasn't working.

Salvation came from an unexpected source. Dark Marik was thrown aside by an invisible force, soon revealed to be Ginny. She had her wand out again- oh, right, she'd gotten it back during Ryou's duel- and aimed at his darker counterpart, although this time she didn't look half crazy with anger. He had watched that play out with some surprise.

The change in Ginny was abrupt, but it soon became clear that Bakura had taken over. He pocketed the wand and casually strode over to Dark Marik, Millenium Ring glowing and giving him protection.

"Having fun?" he asked, smiling unpleasantly. "I don't like your lighter half either- he cheated me out of an Item- but I like you even less. So, I propose a Shadow Game."

His darker half actually looked interested. "Oh? Whose soul will you be offering up?"

"Mine." That made both Mariks' eyebrows shoot up. "Ginevra's will not be touched. I need to have some... insurance, after all. Also, if you lose, you must relinquish the Rod to me. If I lose, the Millenium Ring is yours."

"No."

Bakura raised an eyebrow. Marik's darker half leaned forward, a wide smirk on his face. "The Rod if you win. Little Ginny's wand if you lose."

The Ring's spirit scowled deeply, but accepted the term. For a brief moment there was conflict on his face- most likely Ginny fighting back- before his expression returned to normal. Marik began to back away, not wanting to get involved in whatever this Shadow Game would entail. His own power was still too weak. He was about to head for the stairs when-

He saw it before they did. All he could do was shout, "GET DOWN!"

He threw himself to the ground, noting that Bakura did the same as three jets of light passed overhead. His darker half wasn't so quick; one of the spells hit him dead on, knocking him off his feet and the Millenium Rod out of his hand. Marik scrambled to his feet only to dive out of the way of another spell. Bakura, it seemed, had switched back with Ginny; her wand was in her hand.

"Reducto!" she cried, aiming at the feet of one of the three hooded figures that had appeared. The floor beneath them exploded, but they simply whirled and disappeared with a loud crack, reappearing a few feet away. In an instant, Bakura had taken over again and summoned Dark Necrofear, commanding it to attack another of the figures. Another loud shout rang out, and the redhead suddenly froze, toppling to the ground.

His darker half appeared to be immobilized in a similar way, and Marik knew it was only a matter of time before the same happened to him. He lunged for the Millenium Rod, but it soared out of his reach and into the hands of one of the figures. A loud shrieking cackle erupted from another one, pulling back her hood to reveal a gaunt face and crazed black eyes.

"Well, well, well," she sneered, wand never leaving Ginny's face. "Look what we have here. A little vermin who's very far from home. Who knew that a Weasley would get mixed up with such ancient magic?"

The woman said something else, freeing Ginny, but a moment later shrieked, _"Crucio!"_

The redhead writhed on the ground, arching her back as wailing screams emerged from her mouth. The spell subsided with a lazy flick from the witch's wand, leaving Ginny a shivering mess on the ground. Bakura took over again, stopping the shivering but still unable to fight back.

"Imagine the Dark Lord's surprise when I tell him," continued the woman. "He'll be- would you knock it off?" she suddenly yelled at one of her comrades, who was trying to fight off Dark Necrofear. The Fiend-type was literally trying to tear the man apart, and had so far managed to gouge the man several times. "Oh, for the love of- _Avada Kedavra!"_

A jet of green light hit the monster, which vanished immediately. Marik saw Bakura freeze, grimacing. Why wasn't his darker half doing anything to stop them? A single glance at him answered that question- he was unconscious. And drooling. The sight would've made Marik laugh if the situation had been at all funny.

"Ginny!" came a loud shout. The boy- Harry, Marik remembered- ran up the stairs, holding his wand already. He wasted no time, surprising the enemy wizards enough that he was able to hit one of them with red light, knocking them out. Harry's eyes landed on the woman who stood above Ginny and narrowed in barely concealed hatred. _"You."_

An ecstatic smile crossed the woman's face. "Potter's here," she whispered. Louder, she shouted, "Potter's here! How's your godfather doing?"

Harry twitched as though she'd slapped him in the face. His wand arm began to tremble. "Get away from Ginny. Now."

"No, I don't think I will. Rowle! Are you keeping an eye on the muggle?"

Marik cursed; he'd been trying to edge closer to the other Death Eater, maybe to wrestle his wand from him. The hulking man turned to stare at him. With a desperate yell, Marik threw himself at him, catching the man off guard. He ripped the wooden stick from the man's grasp, aiming it at him. He was lucky that Anzu was in good shape, or he might not have been able to pull that off.

Wracking his brains, he tried to remember any of the spells that he'd heard before, not caring that it might not work. Fortunately, at that moment, Harry chose to shout, _"Stupefy!"_ at the woman, so he followed suit. The large man slumped to the ground, so he must've done something right. He turned to the woman, who was staring at him in shock.

"How- you're a muggle!" she whispered.

Marik just shrugged. Harry shot another spell at her, and then the two were dueling in earnest. Despite the fact that she clearly had a few screws loose in her head, she was skilled and came close to getting Harry several times. Marik took the opportunity to drag his darker half to the other side of the arena; it was his body, after all. Bakura stumbled his way over to him, and Harry was backing in their direction too.

Four more figures appeared beside the woman. Marik groaned. "Not more of them!"

Then he was fighting too, even if the only spell he could use was the stunning spell. The woman was still holding the Millenium Rod; Bakura noticed it too, because Ginny took over a moment later and shouted, _"Accio!"_

It flew out of the woman's grasp, but wasn't caught by the redhead; instead, his darker half lunged forward and grabbed it. Marik and Bakura swore at the same time.

What his darker half did next surprised him.

"Drillago!" The monster appeared and attacked the Death Eaters. His jaw almost dropped open- Dark Marik was fighting alongside them. The floor near him exploded, hitting him with bits of metal. Something blasted him backwards before searing pain ripped through him. He couldn't stop himself from screaming.

When he finally managed to get back to his feet, another monster had joined the battle- this one the Dark Magician. The Pharaoh had decided to take part, sending in the Dark Magician Girl as well. Both monsters worked in coordination, bombarding the Death Eaters with magic attacks of their own. Bakura briefly took over Ginny again and added the Earl of Demise to the fight. They were slowly gaining the upper hand, pushing back the five Death Eaters.

In the mayhem, Marik heard the woman scream, "No, no, Potter's there, he's right there!"

"Bellatrix, you know our orders!" roared someone else. "We-"

The rest of his words were lost as Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl combined their attacks, causing an explosion that blinded them all. When the dust cleared, all of the Death Eaters- including the two unconscious ones- had vanished. Marik, suddenly feeling exhausted, dropped to his knees, breathing heavily.

"Anzu!" cried Yami; he heard footsteps, but they were stopped by Bakura's words.

"Fool! That isn't Anzu."

Marik lifted his head to glare at the tomb robber, who only offered a smirk back. That smirk changed into a concerned look, indicating that Ginny was back in control. She walked over and helped him up, in spite of knowing who he was.

Frowning, she said, "I think you might have magic."

"What?" someone said sharply- Harry. The green eyed boy studied him, confused.

Out of the corner of his eye, Marik noticed his darker half leave after throwing a contemptuous look in their direction. The Pharaoh crossed his arms, also looking steadily at Marik. He sighed, knowing that explanations were in order.

"She'll have a few scrapes, but nothing severe," he said to reassure them. "I'm sorry for putting her in danger. I won't be doing it again."

Ginny's expression darkened. "You damn near killed her," she spat, sounding so like Bakura that for a moment Marik thought he'd taken over again. But that didn't make any sense- Bakura wouldn't have given a crap what happened to any of the Pharaoh's friends. He made a mental note to find out what that was all about later, when (if) he got his body back.

He could feel his mental strength deteriorating. "Listen to me, Pharaoh," he said urgently. "You must defeat my darker half. If he wins in your duel... there'll be no stopping him. I'm not even sure what he wants, but what I do know is that he loves causing pain. He craves it, and he won't care who gets in his way."

The Pharaoh looked dumbstruck but recovered quickly, nodding firmly. Marik allowed the barest of smiles to appear. He was almost gone now. Turning back to Ginny and Harry, he said, "I don't know if I have your kind of magic. I lived in a tomb underground for the first ten years of my life and I traveled a lot after that. Here." Casually, he tossed the wand he'd taken to Harry. "That's from the man named Rowle. I don't know if it will be useful, but... good luck."

And with that he released Anzu, floating back into the recesses of her mind.

* * *

Ginny was by Anzu's side in a second when the brunette stumbled, barely able to keep from falling over. Anzu looked at her, then Harry, then Yami, and blinked. "What... what happened? How did I even get up here? Why does my... argh!"

Her hand went to one of the scratches on her cheek.

"You'll be fine, Anzu," Ginny told her. She wasn't completely sure that Marik didn't have an alterior motive for possessing Anzu, but she wasn't about to tell her friend that. "Basically... please don't panic, he didn't mean any harm... Marik possessed you for a bit."

A surge of anger went through her. _Didn't mean any harm? Who am I kidding? He went up against someone who was willing to kill him without any regard for Anzu's safety!_

_Calm down,_ Bakura ordered. _This is getting you nowhere._******  
**

Ginny breathed in deeply, forcing down her rage. "If we hurry, we can catch the end of Jonouchi's duel. Last I saw him, he was putting up a pretty good-"

"Hold on," Yami interrupted. When Ginny turned to look at him, he glanced pointedly at the two wands that Harry held in his hands. The redhead suddenly felt very weary as she and Harry exchanged looks, silently debating on whether or not now was a good time to tell them.

"Look," she said, thinking carefully about her words. "Which is going to distract you more- thinking about what we tell you, or wanting to know about it?"

Yami didn't relent. "Not knowing will prove to be more of a distraction."

"Okay." She was so going to get expelled for this, but the Pharaoh- everyone, in fact- had a right to know about her and Harry. Speaking of, Harry looked like he was going to argue, but she shook her head at him. "No, he's right; it's better if we tell them, especially since You-Know-Who's after the Millenium Items."

"You-Know-Who?" Anzu asked, perplexed.

"We'll get to that in a bit," Ginny said, brushing a lock of red hair out of her eyes. "To start off, Harry's a wizard. I'm a witch."

Silence. Then-

"Go on," Yami urged.

It didn't surprise her that he and Anzu were taking it so well. Anzu had just been possessed by an Egyptian boy and Yami was a three thousand year old pharaoh.

"We were born with a different kind of magic," she continued. "I wouldn't say it's more or less powerful, just... different. When we were younger, we were able to use it in uncontrolled bursts. When we turned eleven, we got our wands and started going to a magic school to learn how to use it properly. I was born into a wizarding family with six brothers. I'm what's called a pureblood, because my bloodline can be traced back to wizards."

"My parents both had magic too," Harry took over. "My father was a pureblood, but my mother had muggle parentage- muggles are non-magical- so she was what you'd call a muggle-born. That makes me a half-blood, apparently. The thing you should know about some pureblood wizards- Ginny's family being an exception- is that they're obsessed with blood status. Those people you just saw are extreme examples. They believe that muggle-borns don't even deserve to live, much less have magic.

"It's a right load of crap. My best friend, Hermione Granger, is a muggle-born. She's the best witch in my year at school."

"We have our own wizarding government," Ginny explained. "It's called the Ministry of Magic, and it's stationed in London. I don't really know what the government here in Japan is like, but I assume it's similar. They're able to track underage magical signatures, so when magic is used in front of muggles, we get in huge trouble for it. Muggles aren't supposed to know."

"Won't you get in trouble for telling us?" asked Anzu worriedly.

"That's the thing," Ginny sighed. "Well... you remember when Ryou brought me back to his apartment, and you guys all summoned Bakura to ask him what he wanted?"

Both Anzu and Yami nodded. Ginny swallowed nervously. "Bakura didn't lie. What happened to that man- that was me. I think he was trying to- you know, and I used a pretty horrible spell on him. I'm being honest when I say this: I have no idea how I knew that spell. I just did. I said the incantation, and-"

"Ginny, stop," said Anzu, placing a hand on her shoulder. "This is tearing you up. You don't have to talk about that."

"Right," she muttered, grateful for the gesture of comfort. "Anyway, so I used magic then, but I didn't get a letter from the Ministry or anything. And, as you saw earlier, Harry stunned me to stop me from attacking the other Marik. We still haven't gotten in trouble for that one either."

"What about the people that were attacking us just now?" asked Yami. "Are they going to be a threat in the future?"

Ginny looked over at Harry, knowing that the subject of Voldemort was more up his alley. Carefully, the black haired boy told them his story- how the dark wizard had killed his parents and then tried to kill him when he was a baby, his more recent encounters with Voldemort, and how his scar somehow connected him to Voldemort.

"But I don't think it was me he was after this time," Harry said. "Bellatrix looked surprised to see me when I helped Ginny earlier. I think he's interested in the Millenium Items. She was holding the thing that Marik usually uses when I got there, although he managed to get it back from her."

"That's... not good," Anzu said after a moment.

"I agree," said Yami. "This kind of power in the hands of a madman... it's bad enough that Bakura and Marik are able to use it."

_He does know that I'm right here, I hope,_ Bakura commented dryly.

"Either way, we've got a big problem on our hands," Ginny said, ignoring Bakura's input. "But I think that the focus should be on defeating Marik. Bakura told me himself that he hasn't got much of an agenda right now, so for the time being he's nothing to worry about. Aaaand now he's pissed at me for saying that."

He was indeed, judging by the anger that was being directed at her. She mentally stuck her tongue out at him in response.

They drifted down from the tower to watch the rest of Jonouchi's duel once their discussion was wrapped up. He'd come very close to winning against Kaiba, even managing to take control of one of the CEO's Blue-Eyes White Dragons. This had irked Kaiba to no end, and he proceeded to mercilessly crush Jonouchi.

"That was really close, Jonouchi," Ginny told him.

He pouted at her. "You didn't even see most of it."

"Sorry," she said sheepishly. "We'll explain everything later, after the final duel."

Suddenly feeling like she was suffocating, she stepped away from everyone else to a quieter spot among the ruins. The sky had never been bluer, clashing with the blackened land around her. Ginny closed her eyes, breathing in deeply and appreciating just being alive. The breeze cooled her face, somehow giving her strength for what was coming.

"This is it," she whispered.

* * *

Author's note: Not much time for this. Thank you for reading, please review, love you all!


	14. Chapter 13: Arduous

**Paradigm Shift**

**Chapter 13: Arduous**

A cold wind blew across the top of the Duel Tower. Yami barely felt it, focused as he was on Marik. The Egyptian stood across from him, casually twirling the Millenium Rod in his hands. The Pharaoh scowled, remembering how close Ginny had been to getting it during the fighting earlier. It was hard to believe that that had happened half an hour previously; it felt like an entire day had passed.

Off to the side stood Jonouchi, Honda, Anzu, Ginny, and Harry. Kaiba had not yet shown up to the duel- a fact that Yami wasn't sure he should be glad for or worried about. While the stubborn CEO annoyed him for refusing to accept his connection to ancient Egypt, he still thought of Kaiba as an acquaintance, or even a friend.

"Yugi!"

Speak of the devil. Kaiba strode arrogantly into the arena; Yami was surprised to see that there was a card in his hand. He tossed it up to the Pharaoh, sending him a sharp glare that told him not to argue. "You'll need this."

Yami gave Kaiba a perplexed look before looking at the card. His eyes widened, wondering why the CEO would give him his Fiend Sanctuary magic card. He guessed that it was some method of defense against the Winged Dragon of Ra.

"You'll need that card to win," Kaiba told him bluntly, already moving off to join Mokuba on the other side of the dueling platform. Yami added the magic card to his deck and shuffled, looking up to see that Marik was doing the same. Isono chose the moment to call out the duel.

"The final match of the Battle City tournament is about to begin!" No one cheered. "Marik Ishtar will be facing Yugi Mutou. The first move will be made by Mr. Ishtar!"

The platform was raised up above everyone else. Marik made a show of licking the Millenium Rod; although Yami was inwardly repulsed by this, he didn't let it show on the outside. Instead, he activated his duel disk. He couldn't deny that he was worried. Just what was Marik planning for him? He had no doubt that his opponent would be turning this into a Shadow Game.

_We'll get through it,_ Yugi told him, appearing beside him. _We have our friends behind us, not to mention the power of our deck._

_I know,_ was all Yami said in reply.

"Duel!" both he and Marik called.

"But before I begin," Marik said maliciously, "I think a change of scenery is in order."

Yami grimaced as shadows enveloped the field once again.

"The rules have changed this time around," continued Marik. "I couldn't very well do to you what I did to little Jonouchi; that would be boring. So take a look around, why don't you? You may found that you've... misplaced something."

A familiar gasp came from his right, but what alarmed Yami was that it was audible. Yugi was suspended next to him in midair- and judging by the stares, he was visible to everyone else as well. The Pharaoh whipped back around to glare at Marik, his eyes narrowing at the sight of a figure suspended behind his opponent.

"Get it?" sniggered Marik. "In this duel, our souls are not the only ones at stake here. Each time you lose life points, a bit of Yugi's soul will be devoured by the shadows. The same will happen to my hikari here, only I won't feel the loss quite so profoundly." His sniggering erupted into full blown laughter. "No matter how you look at it, you're going to be hurting someone, Pharaoh! It's my move!"

"Yugi..." Yami already felt guilty. The last thing he had wanted was for anyone else to get dragged into this, especially his partner.

"It doesn't matter," Yugi insisted, face set. "You do what you have to to beat him. No matter what happens to me. I'm worried about Marik, though."

"Hopefully, we'll find a way to free him," said Yami quietly.

"Fat chance!" barked Dark Marik, drawing a card. "I'll start by summoning my Vampiric Leech in attack mode." An ugly worm sprang out of the card, getting an "Ew!" from Anzu. "Now, I activate its special effect to attack you directly!"

Before Yami could even register what was happening, the leech collided with him, knocking his life points to 3500. Yugi let out a pained cry as his knee was burned away. Noticing the anguished look that the Pharaoh was giving him, he smiled. "I'll be fine. Don't worry."

"This is what he did to Ryou," said Ginny. Yami glanced at her to see that she was trembling, eyes fixed on Marik.

"I'm fine, Ginny," said Yugi more loudly. "Really. We can win this."

"HA!" yelled Marik, making everyone except Yami and Yugi jump. "Let's erase that resolve, then. I activate Vampiric Leech's second special effect, which allows me to discard one card in order to switch it to defense mode. And guess what I'm getting rid of?"

The leech curled in on itself while Marik waved around the Winged Dragon of Ra for everyone to see. He then placed it in the graveyard. "I place one card face down. Your move, Pharaoh."

Yami drew a card, keeping himself focused. _I don't know what his face-down is, but I do know that I need to get at his lifepoints before he can summon Ra._ With that thought in mind, he summoned Queen's Knight. "Attack his Vampiric Leech!"

Queen's Knight obeyed, her 1500 attack points more than enough to take out Marik's monster. "I place two cards face down and end my turn."

With a sickening smile on his face, Marik began again. "I summon Juragedo in attack mode. Destroy his Queen's Knight!" Yami's life points went down to 3300. Marik set two more cards face down. Yami had to be even warier now; with three face downs, it was impossible to tell exactly what Marik was planning should he attack.

He drew his next card. _Exchange, huh? This may help._ Before he could do anything else, Marik stopped him.

"Activate trap: Left Arm Offering! I have to discard my entire hand, but as a result I can take one magic card from my deck. The card I choose is Monster Reborn!"

"He's going to summon it already?" Harry asked, sounding appalled.

"No, he isn't," Yami growled. "I activate Exchange!"

Marik snarled wordlessly, but walked forward all the same. Yami couldn't help but smirk a bit at his opponent, knowing that Monster Reborn was a key part of Marik's strategy. He took the revival spell card from Marik; Marik, in turn, took De-Fusion from him.

"All right! Way to go, Yugi! Uh, I mean, Pharaoh." Anzu wacked Jonouchi on the back of the head. "Ow!"

"Now I'll use Monster Reborn to bring back my Queen's Knight!" The blond woman reappeared on the field, looking grateful to have escaped from the graveyard. "Then I summon King's Knight, which automatically allows me to summon Jack's Knight." Feeling much more confident with the three monsters on his side, Yami sent Marik a silent challenge. "Your move."

Marik grimaced. "I set one card face down." _That has to be De-Fusion,_ Yami thought. _I'll need to keep an eye on that._ "Next, I activate Card of Sanctity! Meaning we both draw until we're holding six cards. I'll end my turn with switching Juragedo to defense mode."

Yami's eyes narrowed. Marik had to be planning something. He still had two other unknown face down cards. Still, he was about to (hopefully) render them virtually useless.

"My turn. Now..." He glanced at his hand once more before turning his attention back to the duel. "I sacrifice my three monsters..."

The knights all vanished from the field. "Is he...?" Ginny asked.

"...in order to summon Osiris the Heaven Dragon!"

With a mighty roar, the massive red serpent coiled itself around the duel tower. Yami didn't miss the tiny smirk that appeared on Marik's face, but hoped that it didn't mean what he thought it meant. He heard cheers from his friends and an exclamation from Mokuba.

"I definitely did not see that coming," admitted Jonouchi. "But way to go!"

"I'm holding six cards," Yami said. "Which means that Osiris' attack is equal to 6000 points- more than enough to end the duel here and now! Osiris, attack his Juragedo! Thunderforce attack!"

Marik laughed. "You fool! You didn't think it was going to be that easy, did you? I activate Dark Spell Regeneration, which will allow me to activate Monster Reborn right from your own graveyard! Now, say hello to _my_ Egyptian god: Winged Dragon of Ra, come forth, take on your Phoenix form!"

The birdlike dragon appeared, encased in fire as it had been at the end of Jonouchi's duel. This wasn't good; its effect would allow it to destroy his monster. Osiris' second mouth activated to take out 2000 attack points from Ra, but the effect was useless.

"I'll pay 1000 life points to activate Ra's special ability and destroy Osiris!"

Yami grimaced as fire blasted his god card, obliterating it. At the very least, Ra had to return to the graveyard as well, since Monster Reborn would only work on a god card for one turn.

"Oh, but that isn't the last you'll be seeing of him," Marik said. "I activate Zombie's Jewel! Using this, I can take Monster Reborn from your graveyard and add it to my hand. However, you get to draw a card."

With that, Marik's strategy hit him in the face: he was planning on his using Ra, over and over again, until the Pharaoh was finally defeated. Marik must have seen the realization on his face, because he raised an eyebrow. "Did you figure it out yet, Pharaoh? I want to make you suffer, before the end. I want to see you writhe in pain. I want to see the agony on your face as your friend disappears, bit by bit. I want to see your eyeballs pop out in shock when you lose." He leaned forward, looking ecstatic at the thought, lowering his voice. "And I will enjoy every minute of it."

"That's creepy," Ginny stated frankly.

"No kidding," agreed Otogi. "I mean, it's pretty obvious that the dude's a psychopath, but this is just-"

"-freaky-"

"-disgusting-"

"-insane-"

"All those things," said Otogi, nodding at Honda, Jonouchi, and Anzu. "I'd try to think of a better word, but I can't think of one that's bad enough."

"Deranged?" Harry suggested.

"Close enough."

Yami drew in a deep breath. He knew, in this situation, which card he would need. He could sense Yugi's silent support and was grateful for it; closing his eyes, he slipped the top card off his deck and, without looking, placed it face down on the field.

"What the- how did he do that?!" spluttered Jonouchi. Marik let out a disbelieving laugh.

"Not even looking at the card, Pharaoh?" he asked. "Has your mind fallen into darkness already?"

"No," a soft voice interrupted them. "The Pharaoh knows what card he drew. He knows that it is the card he needs to win this duel."

Everyone gaped at Ishizu, who was watching the duel with a solemn look on her face. "His faith in himself and all of you enabled him to draw exactly the right card. That card is the card that Kaiba gave to him at the beginning of the duel. It will spell the downfall of the Winged Dragon of Ra."

Anzu looked flabbergasted. "But... how did he know?"

"I think I felt it," Ginny answered. "There was... something, I don't know what, but I knew as soon as he did. Huh, Bakura agrees with me. That's a first."

"Man, this is getting weird," said Honda. "I knew the Pharaoh was powerful and all, but now he's a psychic? That seems like a bit much."

"It's not even that, Honda," Ginny sighed, running a hand through her hair. "How can I put this... he didn't know that the card was going to be there; he made it so that it was."

A short silence followed her words. Yami didn't look at them, focusing on Marik instead, wondering what his opponent would do. He was glad to see that Marik looked a bit unnerved by all of this.

"I end my turn," he announced.

That seemed to snap Marik out of it. He scowled. "It doesn't matter what card you put down, Pharaoh; soon I will wield all your power! I activate Monster Reborn to bring back Ra once more. This time, I activate Point-to-Point transfer to give all but one of my life points to his attack points!"

Marik disappeared from the field, leaving only one eye behind, and reappeared fused together with the golden dragon. The lighter Marik vanished almost completely due to the life point loss; Yami felt a bit of empathy for the boy, but he couldn't afford to lose this duel.

"Next I'll sacrifice Juragedo," shouted Marik from his perch. "This will add even more power to Ra, bringing him to a total of 4699 attack points! Now, make him squirm; attack the Pharaoh directly, and make his power mine!"

"Not so fast!" barked Yami. "I activate the card that Kaiba gave me: Fiend's Sanctuary!"

The magic card flipped up, and a metal token appeared on the field. Reflected in that token's head was Marik's single eye, which widened at the sight of itself.

"What?"

"When your attack is launched, it will hit you instead of me," Yami explained calmly. "You have only one life point left Marik. This duel is over!"

Marik blanched, but quickly recovered. "It won't end this way!" he shrieked. "Activate De-Fusion! Separate me from Ra!"

Yami inwardly cursed, having overlooked that card in his triumph. Jonouchi swore, resulting in Anzu elbowing him in the side, and Ginny had stomped her foot on the ground, looking very much like she wanted to tear something apart. Not only did Marik avoid loss, he had also gained more life points from Juragedo, now giving him 4700.

"One card face down," Marik spat. "Turn end."

_He's angry he couldn't destroy me,_ Yami thought. _He hasn't figured out that there's another use for Fiend's Sanctuary as well._ Noticing the expectant look on Kaiba's face, he knew that he was right.

"I draw," he said. "First, I'll pay 1000 life points in order to keep my fiend token on the field." They clicked down to 2300, and he winced when Yugi gritted his teeth. "Next, I activate the magic card Multiply in order to create two more tokens. Do you understand, Marik? These tokens can be treated as sacrifices, you know."

Marik's eyes widened. "No!"

"So, he figured it out," Kaiba commented, smirking. "As I expected."

"He's summoning the second god?" Anzu exclaimed. "Already?"

"Yeeeeah!" shouted Jonouchi, punching the air. "Go, Yugi- or, uh, Pharaoh. Or both of them. Gah, I don't know!"

"You might want to just stop there," Honda suggested. "Before you hurt yourself."

"Why you-!"

"Guys!" snapped Anzu. "You might want to take this a little more seriously."

Yami couldn't help the small smile that appeared at their antics. It was good to know that, even in the face of someone like Marik, some things never changed.

"I sacrifice my three tokens in order to summon my second Egyptian god. Come forth, Obelisk!"

Yami didn't need to look to know that everyone (excepting Kaiba, who was keeping his expression passive) was gaping up at Obelisk in awe. Even Marik, for the first time, looked truly frightened at the sight of the Egyptian God on the field. He didn't waste any time calling his attack, watching as Obelisk's fist collided with Marik. His life points dropped from 4700 to 700.

Marik began to laugh.

That almost caused Yami to falter- almost. He remained calm, frowning at his opponent as he clutched his stomach. The demented grin was back again. Marik pressed a button on his duel disk, revealing one of his set cards.

"Since you were so kind as to wipe out more than half of my life points, I can activate the card known as Metal Reflect Slime. Much like your Fiend's Sanctuary, it too can be treated as a monster."

Yami watched, trying to suppress his growing horror as the mass of metal morphed into a look alike of Obelisk. Thankfully it had no attack points, although it did have three thousand defense points. Gnashing his teeth, he ended his turn.

"Very good," purred Marik, licking his lips when he drew his card. "I summon Revival Jam to the field. Next, I activate Polymerization to fuse him with my Metal Reflect Slime, forming Egyptian God Slime!"

The fake Obelisk didn't look any different after the fusion, but Yami wasn't sure that he wanted to know what it could do. Its attack and defense became equal to Metal Reflect Slime's defense, which meant that it had more attack points, but otherwise it still wasn't powerful enough to defeat Obelisk. Still, Yami knew that he had to be cautious. One wrong move, and he could lose his second god as well as the first.

"I summon Big Shield Gardna in defense mode!" he called. It wouldn't be able to hold its own against Marik's monster, but it was a start. "Now Obelisk: destroy his Egyptian God Slime! Fist of Fury!"

The others shielded themselves as the god attacked, stirring up a wind that whirled the shadows surrounding them. Jonouchi let out a cheer, but Yami wasn't about to relax just yet. He knew what Revival Jam had been capable of, and had a hunch that Egyptian God Slime's ability was similar.

He was right.

"Too bad, Pharaoh," sneered Marik. "Using Egyptian God Slime's special ability, I can special summon him from the graveyard in defense mode!"

Yami scowled at the monster's reappearance; however, he had no choice but to end his turn. Marik placed a card face down before summoning a monster called Bowganian, which had only 1300 attack points. The Pharaoh suspected that the card was meant to burn out his life points in some way, and knew that destroying it as soon as possible would be for the best. He also set a card.

"Now, I sacrifice Big Shield Gardna in order to summon the Dark Magician Girl." One of his two trustworthy magicians appeared, winking at her audience before sizing up her opponents. "Attack his Bowganian!"

"Sorry," said Marik. "I think you'll find this card to be familiar as well. Jam Defender! And since Egyptian God Slime's name is treated as Revival Jam, that means you have to attack it instead!"

Yami cringed as his life points went down to 1300. He shot Yugi a concerned look when his entire midriff disappeared; his partner winced, but did not cry out as he did last time. He lost another arm as well, thanks to Bowganian's special ability. Their life points dropped to 1000.

"I end my turn," he said, his grip on his cards tightening.

"Very well," replied Marik. "I draw." He snickered at the card he'd picked up, eerily blank lavender eyes glancing up at Yami. "I think it's time Ra returned, don't you? I activate Mining for Magical Stones, which allows me to retrieve Monster Reborn from the graveyard!"

"Not again!" groaned Anzu.

"I have to discard two cards, but it's well worth it. Now I'll place one card face down and summon my Swallowtail Spike Lizard to the field in defense mode. With it, I receive 1000 life points each turn." His grin widened. "Can you sense it, Pharaoh? Your destruction is coming ever closer. Soon, that body that you and little Yugi share will be nothing more than a corpse with worms coming out of its eyes."

"Didn't need that image," muttered Ginny.

"Tell me about it," answered Otogi, grimacing.

"My move," barked Yami. He summoned Gazelle in defense mode and placed two cards face down; he lost another 300 life points thanks to Bowganian. Yugi's right leg disappeared entirely, leaving him with only his head. It was a disturbing sight, but Yami didn't let it get to him. There was still a chance for him to win, even with Egypian God slime on the field.

"Pharaoh!" came a sudden cry. Startled, Yami turned to stare at Anzu. He knew at once that something was wrong; her eyes were too blank, too emotionless.

"Marik?" he asked cautiously.

* * *

Ginny examined Anzu- or Marik, since he was controlling her. He didn't seem like he was about to try to hurt anyone, so she released her wand from her grip, but she didn't let her guard down completely. She could sense Bakura's mind coiling like a snake, ready to strike at a moment's notice. He didn't trust Marik either- but then, he didn't trust anyone.

Marik paid her no attention; his eyes were fixed on Yami.

Jonouchi, who hadn't known about when Marik took over Anzu before, yelped, "Say what?!"

"Listen to me, Pharaoh," urged Marik. "Whatever happens to me, you must destroy my darker half. He is a monster born of my hatred, my anguish, and my rage. Truthfully, I don't believe that he's even human; he doesn't have the emotions for it. If bringing him down means my end, then so be it. I'll gladly die to that end!"

"Fool!" snapped Yami Marik. "It won't matter what you say, because the Pharaoh is going to lose this duel!"

Marik ignored him. Even though Anzu's eyes were blank thanks to the mind control, he still somehow managed to convey his determination to Yami. Ginny didn't believe that he was lying. She could feel Bakura's disgust and contempt for him, but she shoved it aside. A part of her pitied Marik- for his childhood, for his bastard of a father, and for the scars that Ishizu said were on his back.

"But Marik-"

"Sister," he interrupted gently, "I know you wished to save me. I'm grateful for everything you've done, but it's my turn now. It's all right," he added when she started shaking her head. "I don't blame you for any of this."

Ishizu looked at him sadly. "It's the duty of the older sibling to protect the younger. I should have known that, despite our duties as tomb keepers."

"Not this time," Marik said. He turned back to the Pharaoh, his gaze hardening once more. "Well?"

The two stared at one another- Marik's face set, while Yami's was clearly conflicted. He and Yugi glanced at one another briefly and nodded, coming to a silent agreement. He looked back at Marik.

"I will defeat your dark half," he vowed quietly. "It's what I meant to do from the beginning. But we will do everything in our power to get you out of there first. Yugi believes- and I agree- that you shouldn't have to suffer in the same way. The fact that you're willing to sacrifice yourself means that you've changed."

Marik was taken aback by that; he actually backed away from the dueling platform. "But... how can I-"

"Enough of this!" snarled Yami Marik. "As I said before, it won't matter. The Pharaoh and his little partner will be dying today; their souls will forever be tormented in the Shadow Realm. And as for you, little hikari, you're becoming too much of a bother- interrupting our duel. The shadows are hungry enough as it is!"

He raised his Millenium Rod, aiming it straight at Marik/Anzu. A thousand thoughts flew through Ginny's head at once: he was going to trap Marik again, he was going to do something horrible to him, Merlin what's going to happen to Anzu because of this-

She threw herself in front of the blast.

Harry shouted her name, but she barely heard it. At the exact moment of impact, Bakura had shielded her mind with his. For a moment, both of them were shrieking silently, when his screams were suddenly cut off. At the same time, there was a horrible riptear_shred_ through her; she felt both hot and cold at the same time. It didn't even hurt, but she didn't know which was up and which was down. Everything was numb, muffled. She could barely see. She could barely breathe.

She couldn't hear Harry's shouts to her, Marik's laughter, or the distressed cries of Anzu.******  
**

She couldn't feel anything. No horror, no sadness, no anger. No pain- and for some reason, that brought her closer to fright than anything else.

Ginny brought a hand to her abdomen, expecting to find a hole there. There wasn't one, but she felt like there should've been.

* * *

Yami could only look at Ginny.

Her eyes were glassy, unfocused, and she was trembling furiously. Harry had both hands on her shoulders, begging her to say something. So far, the only thing to come out of her mouth was garbled nonsense. Harry let out a yell of frustration- something about something called a dementor- and rounded angrily on Marik.

"What did you do to her?"

Marik shrugged flippantly. "She got in the way. That was meant to banish Marik from the girl's body, but it looks like the tomb robber got caught instead. Isn't it delightful? If one of them is destroyed, then the other is automatically broken. Her soul is in shreds thanks to them being ripped apart."

Ginny had fallen silent. Anzu- who had come back to her senses- came around and gave her a hug, looking ready to cry. Jonouchi didn't have anything to say for once. Honda's hands were balled into fists, as were Otogi's. Shizuka had latched onto her brother's arm, hand covering her mouth as she watched Ginny. Ishizu was kneeling beside the fallen redhead, eyes closed.

Yami could feel the rage beginning to simmer, but he didn't allow it to take over him. Rather, he used it to fuel his determination to win- because now he had to win. Even if it meant bringing back an enemy, Ginny's soul had to be repaired- along with Mai's. He looked away from Ginny. She wouldn't have wanted his pity.******  
**

"This is the beginning of the end, Pharaoh!" said Marik's darker half. Some of the real Marik reappeared as he gained 1000 life points, bringing Marik to a total of 1700. "I activate Monster Reborn to bring back Ra in Egyptian God Phoenix mode. I can pay one thousand life points in order to destroy every pathetic monster on your field."

Marik erupted into a fit of laughter as his attack was unleashed; he didn't notice the smirk that creeped onto Yami's face as he pressed a button on his duel disk. When the dust cleared, his monsters were still standing, much to Marik's surprise.

"WHAT?" Then he saw red coils protecting Obelisk and blanched. "You used Osiris as a shield?"

"I activated my own Monster Reborn to deflect your attack," Yami explained. "Only Osiris was destroyed."

"He used one god to save the other? Whoa!" cried Mokuba. "Now that's what I call teamwork."

"Way to go, Yugi!" shouted Jonouchi.

Marik recovered quickly. "It doesn't matter," he said. "I activate Surprise Attack from Beyond, allowing me to repeat my battle phase. Now return to me, Ra!" He fused himself to Ra again, giving him 699 attack points. Yami was ready for him, however, and activated Soul Taker.

"You'll gain 1000 life points," Yami said, smiling grimly, "but this also allows me to use one of your monsters as a tribute. I choose your Egyptian God Slime- and since it's a fusion monster, I can use it as two tributes. By doing so, I'll activate Obelisk's special ability! All your monsters will be destroyed, and you'll lose 4000 life points!"

Marik reacted by sacrificing the remaining monsters and his life points, giving Ra an attack of 4899. "Then I'll play the magic card Class System: since both of our gods have the same level, the effect of Obelisk is negated. Now Winged Dragon of Ra, attack Obelisk and wipe out the Pharaoh!"

"Not so fast," replied Yami. "Since I control the Dark Magician Girl, I can play the spell card Magical Dimension. With it, I can tribute my god card and Gazelle in order to summon my Dark Magician!"

No cheers followed this statement. Everyone was holding their breath, waiting.

"Next I activate the magic card Ragnarok!"

"Ragnarok? I've never heard of that card!"

"Good," Yami said firmly. "It's effect is that I can remove every monster from my hand, deck, and graveyard from play. As a result, all of your monster effects are negated, and all of your monsters are destroyed!"

Panic flashed across Marik's face from where he was fused with Ra, but it was quickly replaced with a smug look. "Oh? You're going to destroy me, but that will mean my hikari's life as well. Do you really have the guts to make that move, Pharaoh?"

Yami hesitated. Did he? He probably would be able to, but he didn't know if Yugi would approve.

Sensing his thoughts, Yugi said, _I don't know what to do. I know that Dark Marik needs to be destroyed, but I don't want Marik's good side to perish with him. He doesn't deserve that, even after everything he's done to us._

He was startled by a gasp from Ishizu. "Rishid!"

"What do you think you're doing here?" barked Marik angrily. "You're supposed to be near-dead."

Rishid wasn't listening to him. He was focused entirely on the single eye that remained of the lighter Marik. His eyes were sunken, his hair was mussed, and he seemed to be struggling to stand, but he refused to back down. It was an impressive sight, although Yami Marik disagreed.

"Fool!" he spat. "You're not wanted here."

"Master Marik," he said, voice strained. Looking worried, Ishizu started forward, but Rishid put up a hand to stop her. "I know you're still here, that you're still listening. You're weighed down by what your other self has done." He and his adoptive sister exchanged glances. "I was no longer able to hold him- you- back.

"This will be hard for you to hear-"

"Rishid," murmured Ishizu.

"No, sister," he said. "He needs to understand this. Master Marik, this darker version of you- he came from you. He is you, and you are him."

"Shut up!" roared Marik. A blast of magic from the Rod slammed into Rishid, but the man still got back up. Yami couldn't help but admire his nerve; he was holding back Ragnarok's effect until Rishid said what he needed to say. The tomb keeper struggled forward again, still trying to speak to Marik.

"You... neither of you is dominant, Master Marik!" he exclaimed. "It may seem like he's mastered you, but it goes both ways- you have the power to master him too."

"How many times will it take?!" screamed Marik, lashing out again. Rishid coughed, struggling to stand. Yami thought he saw the light Marik's eye widen.

"You can control your own destiny," Rishid choked out. "Only this time, you don't have to act out of anger and hate. You can make the choice!"

"Enough!" Marik made as if to finish off Rishid once and for all, but his arm suddenly froze. A panicked look appeared on his face as he struggled to move it; Yami wasn't sure what to think of this new development. A moment later, the lighter Marik's eye vanished and reappeared attached to his other self's face.

"Get- what are you-"

"Pharaoh!" The voice was that of the real Marik. "If you have any sense, then you'll attack me now! Quickly, before he overpowers me again."

"Don't be a fool!" Dark Marik. "If you attack me, then my little hikari goes with me!"

It was Ginny all over again. Yami felt, for one moment, like he was watching from outside his body- watching one of those "movies" that Yugi told him about. It was like a movie based on something he already knew the ending to; he didn't want it to happen, but it had to. He watched as he drew himself up to his full height, heard the confidence ringing in his voice as he called out the attack. Wasn't there something else he could've done? Something to save Marik?

Then he was back in his own body, watching solemnly as each of his monsters flew overhead. They swirled around the Winged Dragon of Ra while Yami Marik protested loudly, screaming vengeance at the rest of them. The Pharaoh couldn't deny that he felt a grim satisfaction, finally getting justice for everyone that Dark Marik had ever hurt: Ryou, Mai, Jonouchi, Ginny, Yugi...

Marik was bellowing nonsense as the gods wrapped themselves around Ra, his other monsters leading the sun dragon to a pentagram. Everyone seemed to collectively hold their breath, watching and anticipating the moment when it would all be over. Yami stared up with the rest as the Winged Dragon of Ra seemed to implode on itself. Marik's shouts were abruptly cut off, and his side of the field was enveloped in dust.

He waited. He thought he heard Jonouchi swear quietly.

"Brother," whispered Ishizu.

And it was. Everyone sagged in relief at the sight of Marik- the real Marik, who no longer looked psychotic or sadistic- standing at the opposite end, intact and only looking a little tired. Despite the cheers from his friends, neither Yami or Marik relaxed.

"Our battle is not yet over," said Marik. And with that, Yami Marik's eye appeared next to him. "I still have one life point left."

His darker half was panicking. "What? How? This shouldn't be possible!" It swiveled towards Marik. "Listen, Marik! We can still defeat the Pharaoh together. For revenge. Revenge for your father, remember?"

"_I_ killed my father," Marik answered quietly.

"You can't do this! I'm a part of you!"

"A part of me that I will not mourn," he said. He raised his hand. "I give up my last life point and surrender the duel. Now begone!"

A last scream rang out from Yami Marik before he was swallowed entirely.

* * *

Author's note: Looooong chapter. But then, I wanted to capture the feelings of Yami during the duel, even though I feel like I could have done better. The story's almost over, but we've still got one or two more chapters before the end comes.

I wanted to demonstrate what would happen to Ginny if someone separated her and Bakura, and this was the result. Harry was saying that it was like a dementor had attacked her, which freaked him out of course.

Thanks to everyone for reading. Please review! I haven't had many lately, and I'd like some feedback.


	15. Chapter 14: Post-Battle

**Paradigm Shift**

**Chapter 14: Post-Battle**

At first there was nothing but a phantom of the pain he'd been feeling, but then a wave of relief crashed into him as his mind flooded back into Ginny. He shut down the feeling as quickly as he could and sensed her do the same. It wasn't for the same reasons, however; she just didn't want to admit to being relieved. He saw his relief as a sign of weakness.

Almost casually, he snapped her control in half. He easily batted away her outrage at him, reacquainting himself with the feeling of being alive.

_I know you're happy about this,_ he told her. _I heard your subconscious crying out for me._

_I hate you,_ she responded. The bitterness in her voice was genuine.

_I think I might know why,_ he said, unable to keep the glee out of his voice. _You hate what I represent, don't you Ginevra? I represent prison for you._

She didn't answer.

_Are all mortals so foolish?_ He sighed silently. _Understand this, little girl: freedom is an illusion. In this case, you will never be free. Even if you do somehow manage to throw off my influence, the memory of me will remain._

_I could get a memory charm,_ she said defiantly.

_But you won't. I know you too well._

"Ginny?" It was the nuisance, also known as Harry Potter. As much as Bakura wanted to scowl at him, he refrained from doing so, instead smiling and using Ginny's voice.

"I'm okay Harry," he said. The black haired boy regarded him for a moment or two, then held out a hand. Bakura took it and got himself on his feet, turning to watch as Marik and the Pharaoh spoke to one another. A rage built up into him as he watched Marik hand the Millenium Rod to the Pharaoh. That anger was replaced by intrigue when Marik revealed the scars on his back.

He and Harry joined the others while Marik was still talking. "...has been destroyed, all of your friends who were trapped in the Shadow Realm should be free."

There was a surge of foreign emotion that ran through him, and to his surprise control was ripped away from him. Just before that happened, the Egyptian locked eyes with him. Bakura saw a flash of recognition there.

Then he could only watch as Ginny turned and flung herself down the stairs.

* * *

There was a huge stitch in her side, but Ginny couldn't have cared less. She didn't even care that Bakura's annoyance was radiating off him in waves, or that Harry was pelting behind her, trying to keep up. The blimp loomed up before her, and she raced inside, hurrying down different hallways in an effort to find him.

He wasn't in his room, nor was he up on the duel arena. Harry tried to ask her something, but was too out of breath to get the words out. She was beginning to lose her hope again when she turned into the kitchen- and there he was.

"Ryou!" He was startled when she jumped on him, not caring how tightly she was hugging him. "Thank Merlin, you're all right!"

"Can't... breathe..."

"Oh, sorry," she said, grinning like an idiot as she pulled away. He looked just the same as he had before- a mess of white hair, kind brown eyes, and a small but genuine smile gracing his face. She suddenly felt awkward, not sure what else to say- that she was sorry? That she missed him? None of it seemed right.

He got there first, anyway.

"I'm glad you're okay."

"You're glad I'm okay?" she asked incredulously. She could almost feel her eyes popping out of her head. "Ryou, you-" She broke off, once again not sure what to say. He tried to smile, but it didn't seem to come out quite right. Not knowing what else to do, she hugged him again, more gently this time.

"Well, I was worried," he admitted when they broke apart. "I don't remember much, but I do remember Bakura being in the Shadow Realm at some point- don't worry, he wasn't able to hurt me," he added at the look on her face, "and I remembered what he said about what it's like when you two are separated, so I thought..."

Ginny exhaled slowly. "Yeah, it did happen. I... don't really remember it either. It was all kind of numb."

That was a lie, and Ryou knew it. She could remember the feeling of hollowness, like all of her crucial organs had been ripped out of her body. Ryou let it slide, however, and this time managed a real smile.

"But enough about me," she said. "How are you? Aside from the fact that you're obviously hungry, that is."

He shrugged. "I'm actually okay," he said. He held up a milk carton for her to see. "Did you know that KaibaCorp has its own brand of milk? It's not as bad as I thought it would be."

She laughed at that. He really did seem to be fine, something that she was thankful for. He must have seen the gratification on her face, because he suddenly frowned seriously.

"What happened to me wasn't your fault," he told her. "I made the choice to face Marik. If it hadn't been me, it would've been you, and you've been through enough already. It's bad enough that you're tormented by Bakura."

Ginny shook her head. "I would've done it. If it kept you from getting hurt, I would have."

"I know," Ryou said, his voice barely above a whisper. "And that's why I did it instead."

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. How many times was he going to leave her at a loss for words, anyway? All she could really say was, "Thank you. For understanding." Still, there wasn't anything that he could say that would change that she felt it was her fault he got hurt. He responded with a nod and a smile, and she moved over to help him clean up the dishes from his feeding frenzy.

That is, until there was a cough from the door.

Ginny spun around, nearly dropping the plate she held. "Oh, I'm sorry Harry!" she exclaimed, feeling the flush in her cheeks. "I forgot you were following me."

"It's fine," he reassured her. "I thought you two would need to talk for a bit." Was it just her, or was his smile a bit tight? "So, you're Ryou Bakura, huh? Ginny's told me all about you."

Ryou grinned modestly. "Nothing too flattering, I hope?"

"I wouldn't say that," Harry answered. The tension in him disappeared as his smile became more real; Ginny let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. "You sound British. I'm Harry Potter, a friend of Ginny's from school. Well, that's not all- her brother, Ron, is my best friend."

"You're Harry?" Ryou positively beamed. "Ginny's talked about you a lot as well."

Ginny let them get to know each other and took care of the rest of the dishes herself. Eventually, everyone else found them in the kitchen, all crying out happily upon seeing that Ryou was all right. She asked them how Mai was; it was Jonouchi who answered her, saying that she was back to her old self as well. He then grumbled about traitor little sisters, before noticing Ginny smirk at him.

"Eh? What's that look for?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing," she said innocently.

The Ishtar family was hanging back by the door, Marik at the forefront. His eyes met Ginny's and narrowed in a we-need-to-talk-later kind of way. She started, remembering that Marik was able to use magic, even though she'd thought he was a muggle when she first met him. Come to think of it, she and Harry owed everyone there an explanation.

Making her way over to the black haired boy, she was about to ask him if this was a good time when Yugi mentioned that the island was going to explode.

That almost made her choke on her own spit. "What?" she gasped out.

Honda rolled his eyes. "It's Kaiba being all melodramatic again. Speaking of which, I haven't seen him in a while. Has anyone else?"

After a chorus of "No"s answered him, Ginny started getting worried all over again. Kaiba wasn't seriously going to... after losing a card game, of all things? It didn't seem like him, despite his reaction to losing to Yugi. And when Anzu mentioned that Mokuba wasn't around either, she really wondered what he was up to. There was no way he would let his brother be in danger.

"I'm going to try to find him," Yugi said, jumping up.

"I'm coming too," announced Anzu, followed by Honda, Jonouchi, and Otogi. Ginny elected to stay and talk to Isono about the situation, along with Harry, Ryou, Mai and Shizuka. The Ishtars had retreated to Marik's room to have a private talk with one another.

The sight that greeted Ginny in the control room was Isono yelling at another of Kaiba's workers. "What do you mean, they're broken?"

She stepped forward. "What's going on?"

Isono shook his head. "The engines have somehow been damaged. We don't have the time or the resources to repair them."

Ginny felt very much like pulling a Jonouchi and screaming "Say WHAT?" at the top of her lungs, but sensed that it was not the time to do so. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she shoved her fear into the corner of her mind and tried to think of a way to get everyone out of there. Nothing came to mind.

Unless...

"Didn't they call for a... a..." Why couldn't she remember the name?

"Helicopter?" Harry suggested.

"Yes, that! Didn't they call for one when Jonouchi was still hurt, to take him to the hospital? Wouldn't it still be here?"

"That'll be a tight fit," said Mai, frowning. "But there's not much more we can do."

* * *

Harry's head was spinning with everything that was happening. First Kaiba's disappearance, and now this? Yugi and his friends had returned to inform everyone that they hadn't found the CEO or his brother. They were horrified upon finding out that the blimp didn't work, but calmed down when they were reminded of the helicopter still waiting.

He and Ginny climbed in after the Ishtars, with Ginny shaking her head and smiling bemusedly. "I can't believe all this. The last few weeks of vacation are going to seem so quiet compared to this insanity. I feel like I haven't had time to breathe, much less rest." She leaned toward him, lowering her voice. "Do you think now's a good time to tell them?"

He looked around at everyone else crammed together in the helicopter. They were all staring anxiously out the windows, looking for a sign that Kaiba had made it out somehow. "Let's wait a bit," he muttered back.

Moments later, a shockwave seemed to rock the helicopter. A massive cloud enveloped the island. Everyone collectively tensed, waiting for something to happen.

When a shape came speeding out of the dust, Jonouchi swore, Honda snorted, and Anzu did a facepalm. Beside him, Ginny rolled her eyes.

Kaiba was driving a jet. A jet shaped like a Blue-Eyes White Dragon. And he was laughing. Mokuba was safely behind him, waving at them from his seat.

"I guess you losers have to be content with the helicopter," came Kaiba's voice over the radio.

"Kaiba, you jerk!" shouted Jonouchi into the speaker, but Harry could hear the relief in his voice.

"We're not going back to Domino, guys," Mokuba told them. "We've got some business to take care of in America. I'm sure we'll be meeting up again sometime, though. Later!"

The two of them sped away. Anzu shook her head. "Those two..."

"They'll be fine," Yugi told her, smiling to himself. "I think Kaiba might have learned something from this tournament, even if he doesn't want to show it."

Harry glanced at Ginny as everyone lapsed into their own conversations. She gave a slight nod before turning to everyone else and doing a "hem-hem" that Umbridge would've been proud of. He had to hold in his laughter at that. At least it worked; silence fell quickly as all eyes turned to the two of them.

Ginny fidgeted. Harry didn't feel the need to, but then he had experience talking in front of a large crowd of people his age (Dumbledore's Army).

"Well, Harry and I owe you all an explanation for what happened during Jonouchi's duel..."

"Oh yeah," said Otogi, straightening up. "What was with that? And those sticks that you had..."

Harry pulled out his wand, holding it up. "Ginny's a witch. I'm a wizard."

Nobody spoke. Nobody laughed. Harry realized that they were all too used to encountering strange things, thanks to the Millenium Items. He and Ginny explained what they'd explained to Anzu and Yugi before, after Bellatrix and the other Death Eaters attacked them. He couldn't help but glance over at Marik a few times, noticing that when he mentioned his connection to Voldemort and the current war, the Egyptian boy clenched his fists.

"Any questions?" Ginny asked brightly.

Jonouchi raised his hand. "If you get angry at us, would you turn us into frogs?"

He and Ginny exchanged a glance. As one, they leaned forward menacingly. "Do you want us to?" asked Harry darkly.

"N-n-no!" yelped Jou. "I'll be good. I promise!"

Everyone started laughing at that, diffusing the tension that had been building up in the cabin. Soon, he and Ginny were being pelted with different questions.

"So, how did you really get on the blimp?"

"What do you study at school?"

"Do wizards eat different food?"

"Are you two good at... whatever it's called... Quidditch?"

"Is there-"

Crack.

There were several yells and a scream from Anzu as a tall, purple robed man with a silver beard and half-moon spectacles appeared out of nowhere. Harry and Ginny had managed not to jump, but he felt as though his heart was racing at a million miles an hour anyway.

Albus Dumbledore smiled genially. "Good afternoon."

* * *

Ryou's jaw had dropped at the appearance of the old man in the middle of the helicopter, standing as though he couldn't feel the turbulence. He didn't think he'd ever seen anyone so strange, or anyone who looked so completely at home on the receiving end of the gaping stares from everyone except Harry and Ginny, who evidently knew who he was.

There was a loud, "What the hell?" from Jonouchi. For once, Anzu didn't hit him for being rude. She was too shocked herself.

"Ah, my apologies," said the elderly man cheerfully. "My name is Albus Dumbledore, headmaster at Hogwarts. I just wanted to check up on my students."

Harry and Ginny looked at each other. "We're fine, sir," Ginny said.

"Excellent," beamed the professor. His twinkling blue eyes lingered briefly on the Ring around Ginny's neck, but quickly turned to the other occupants.

"I assume that Harry and Ginny have filled you in on the basic points of the wizarding world?"

Still speechless, they all nodded.

"Good. And I've made certain that the Ministry does not know of certain underage magic that has been performed here, either. I have also come-" and here his expression changed to become more somber- "to discuss protection for you all."

"Protection, sir?" Yugi said, the first to find his voice.

"Yes," Dumbledore said gravely. "I'm afraid that, especially since you were able to repel the recent attack by one Bellatrix Lestrange, he is all the more interested in the powers of the Millenium Items. We wizards have always thought that Shadow Magic was extinct after all. It would be a catastrophe if Voldemort got his hands on it.

"I'm proposing to send several members of the Order as protection. Two, I think, for Mr. Mutou and one for each of the others here- except, of course, Mr. Ishtar and Mr. Bakura."

Ryou's head shot up at his name. "Excuse me, sir," he said softly. "But why wouldn't we get protection?"

Dumbledore smiled at him, but Ryou had the uncomfortable feeling that the professor was x-raying him. "That's the other thing I'd like to discuss. You and Mr. Ishtar both have magic."

Marik shrugged. "Already knew about it." He ignored the incredulous looks his siblings gave him. "I get that I never went to school- I mean, I've been locked up in a tomb my whole life. But..."

"Why not me?" Ryou asked softly, finishing his question.

"I believe," Dumbledore began, "That it's because you moved to Japan in between the Japanese and English cut off date. The both of you have a choice: Mr. Ishtar, you could choose to attend the Cairo Magical Academy if you wish. Mr. Bakura, you are welcome to go to the Wizarding Institute of Japan. However, I'm extending you two an offer to attend Hogwarts, since you are both well acquainted with Miss Weasley."

A stunned silence followed his proposal. It was all Ryou could do to keep his jaw dropping from shock. Before either he or Marik could get a word in edgewise, however, Dumbledore spoke again.

"It is your choice to make, but I must warn the both of you: the wizards of Great Britain are fighting against Lord Voldemort right now. If you choose to attend Hogwarts, you may be drawn into the fighting, whether you choose to or not."

Ryou closed his eyes and exhaled. For some reason, the prospect of being a part of a fight made it more real to him. It would've been harder for him to believe if everything that wizards did was sugar and rainbows. He wondered how it was possible that he was a wizard, but remembered that once, when he was pretending to perform an occult ritual, the candle flame made several different shapes that shouldn't have been possible.

He briefly considered going to the school in Japan- that way, at least, he'd be near his other friends. His eyes snapped back open when Marik's sister began to speak.

"May I have your assurances, at least, that Hogwarts will offer some protection?"

Dumbledore smiled. "Of course, Miss Ishtar. We have greatly increased the security at Hogwarts this year; Aurors will be standing guard in the grounds and in the nearby village of Hogsmeade as well."

Ishizu nodded, satisfied. Marik exchanged glances with Rishid before meeting Ryou's eyes. Ryou gave a small, 'Why not?' shrug.

"I'd like to enroll in Hogwarts, Professor."

"Me too," Marik chimed in quickly. After a sharp look from his sister, he ducked his head and added, "Sir."

Dumbledore nodded, his eyes twinkling again. He looked back over at Ginny. "And, Miss Weasley, your memories...?"

"They're back," she said quietly, staring down at the Ring. Harry placed a hand on her shoulder; she grasped it with her own, looking at Dumbledore again. "They aren't what I expected, but I don't regret them."

Nearly everyone in the helicopter looked taken aback by that. Ryou studied Ginny's face intently, but her expression was blank, giving nothing away. He thought she was telling the truth; it didn't seem to be Bakura speaking through her. Dumbledore was scrutinizing her as well, but he eventually seemed to decide that that was that, and nodded.

"Very well. I'm glad that your trip to Japan had a positive effect-" Now it looked like Ginny was trying not to laugh- "and that you've bonded with these people. Mr. Ishtar and Mr. Bakura, I will arrange for you to have transport to the Burrow on August 20, the day that Miss Weasley will be returning to her home as well- that is, if you would like to stay, Miss Weasley?"

"Sure," Ginny said, shrugging and smiling. "I'd like that."

Now the headmaster looked over at the boy sitting beside her. "Harry...?"

Harry made a face. "I suppose I have to return to the Dursleys, don't I?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Dumbledore replied, looking apologetic. "I know you've already found some friends here as well, but I suspect that the only reason Voldemort hasn't come here himself is because he doesn't want to deal with the Japanese wizards. He'll soon find some way to get past that, however, and it will be safer for you and everyone else here if you return to England. The last thing we need is to spread the war."

"I understand, sir," Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair. In that moment, Ryou got a better look at who Harry Potter really was and glimpsed a tired man, someone who (like Ginny) had seen and been through far too much at his age. The weight of the British wizarding world rested on his shoulders. He hadn't asked for that, but it happened anyway.

Not for the first time, Ryou wished that there was something more he could do.

"I must say, it was a pleasure meeting you all," Dumbledore said. "Harry, if you would?" He offered the boy his arm. Harry looked slightly suspicious, but took it anyway. "Farewell."

With another loud crack, the headmaster of Hogwarts and the Boy Who Lived disappeared. For a moment, the entire copter was in silence. Inevitably, however, someone had to talk. In this case, no one was surprised that it was Jonouchi.

"That was cool," he said.

Ryou looked at Ginny. Ginny looked at Ryou.

As if on cue, everyone burst out laughing.

* * *

The rest of the summer was exactly as a vacation should've been: they went to the beach, they went to the movies, or they went to the arcade. Ginny's favorite thing to do was just walk around Domino, drinking in the sights of a city that she would soon be leaving. It was a lot easier to talk to her friends now that she no longer had to hide from them. Tonks turned out to be one of the aurors watching Yugi; Ginny recognized her by the wink she gave and the pink hair.

Frisbee turned out to be something she was good at; she laughed openly at the awed looks on Honda and Jonouchi's faces as she jumped up, just barely grabbing the disc. She grinned at them before tossing it to Ryou. "Quidditch player, remember?"

"Not fair!" howled Jonouchi, jabbing a finger in her direction. "How come a girl's better at sports than us?"

Ginny rolled her eyes in response. She caught the frisbee again, this time from Yugi. "I'm not better at them at you. I'm just good at catching things." She wasn't about to say balls, knowing it would only prompt some kind of dirty comment. Even with only that, Jonouchi opened his mouth, grinning evilly. She chucked the frisbee at him, forcing him to dodge.

"You could've knocked my teeth out!" he complained.

"Goodness knows you would've deserved it," said Anzu, throwing her arms out from where she was lying on the grass. Ginny flopped down next to her, opting out of the game for a little bit. They had had plenty of girl bonding moments since the tournament: they went and saw chick flicks, shopped a bit more (Ginny didn't buy anything, but it was always fun to people watch), and even teamed up to play a prank on Honda and Jonouchi. The end result had been two flour-covered boys and a Mai Kujaku with blackmail pictures.

"I heard you've been video-chatting with Marik," Anzu said.

"Oh, yeah," Ginny answered. It had been surprising to find a method of communication similar (and less dizzying) than floo powder, but she found herself enjoying talking to Marik. Without all the focus on taking over the world, he had a great sense of humor. "Mostly he just complains about how the rest of the summer's going by so slowly. I keep telling him that he shouldn't get excited; he's got catch up work to do as well as O.W.L. preparation. He'll be in my year, after all."

"Ryou's going to be a sixth year, right?"

"Uh-huh."

They fell silent, enjoying the breeze that ruffled their hair and listening to the shouts as Honda and Jonouchi wrestled each other again. Ginny was glad not to have to worry about anything earth-shattering; rather, she could just be content to be alive.

"Five more days," sighed Anzu. "It's going to be weird not having you and Ryou here. I'll miss you guys."

"Same here," Ginny replied, smiling a little sadly up at the sky. She would be reluctant to leave, but at the same time she was looking forward to going home to the Burrow and seeing all of her brothers. A letter from her mum told her that Bill was engaged to Fleur Delacour. Her eyebrows had shot up at that, trying not to grimace at the thought of the part-Veela girl becoming a member of her family.

Ryou was going to be traveling to England by plane with Ginny. They had all agreed to meet at the airport to see the two of them off. She wasn't looking forward to sitting in one of the horrible muggle contraptions again, but she didn't have much choice in the matter.

The next five days went by too quickly for her liking. It seemed like one second she was talking to Anzu in the park, and the next she was standing in the airport, clutching her suitcases in her hands. Ryou looked even more nervous than her, glancing at the gate repeatedly. They were supposed to wait for Marik to arrive at the Heathrow Airport before they left for the Burrow.

"You know, even with the Milleniums Items, it's hard to believe that you guys are going to a magic school," said Yugi. "You'll be sure to write to us, won't you?" Ginny had explained that muggle technology didn't work in Hogwarts.

"Of course we will," replied Ginny, grinning. "Just don't be surprised to see an owl outside your window."

Everyone raised an eyebrow at this, but she only kept smiling.

"Be careful, both of you," cautioned Anzu. "If there's a war going on..."

"Same to you," said Ryou, fiddling with the handle of his luggage. "Who knows who else is going to show up, wanting the power of the Puzzle or something?"

"At least this way, a certain someone will be halfway across the world," Ginny muttered, thinking of the Ring hidden under her shirt.

Just as she spoke, the flight attendant announced that they were ready to board passengers. She and Ryou waved goodbye to Yugi and his friends, dragging their baggage to the line waiting by the gate. Once they were checked in and seated on the plane, Ginny looked out the window.

_The whole thing with Marik is over,_ she thought. _It's over._

**End**

* * *

Author's note: I know you guys are going to hate me for this... but I honestly can't promise a sequel. At least, not for a few years. In fact, if I write any new fanfiction, it's probably going to be one-shots from now on. Reason being: I was struck by sudden inspiration and writing this Batman Begins fanfic that I was really proud of when I lost it somehow. Kinda put me off writing altogether for a while, and now I'm mostly planning on writing my original fiction. If you really want me to, I can PM you with a summary of what I was planning to have happen to the characters, since I'm seriously doubting it will ever be published.

Also, sorry that this took so long. School has been completely and utterly demanding for me.

A lot of you are probably thinking, 'How can Ryou and Ginny NOT be a couple?" They just aren't. I solemnly swear so.

My deepest apologies, again. You've all been such wonderful and thoughtful readers and this seems like a poor way to repay you for your time. I love you all.

Signed, The Darkness Factor.


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